


Range of Motion

by LilyandLeather



Category: Rey/Ben Solo - Fandom, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Fusion, Angst with a Happy Ending, Autumn, Eventual Smut, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Smut, Gym Sex, Gyms, Halloween, Masturbation, Mutual Pining, Oral Sex, Sex, Sexual Fantasy, Training, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, Weight Lifting, Wet Clothing, Yoga
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:15:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 53,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22107694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilyandLeather/pseuds/LilyandLeather
Summary: Ben Solo hates Halloween. Rey loves it.And somehow  (Hux, it was totally Hux) they are now stuck working the closing shift at Solo Fitness, the gym Ben manages for his cruel boss. But its cool, he'll figure out a way to make it work.If she'd stop working out in those tank tops and booty shorts all the time it would be a LOT easier. And if he could just keep his shirt on that would be great too.But the kids yoga class is going fine, and they're slowly figuring it out. Together.The Halloween party is gonna suck though.****MAJOR thanks to Bailey ( you know who you are ;) ) who let me run with her fic idea and also contributed the opening sentences and some follow up scene ideas! She has been a major support for me in starting this journey and was the first person to encourage me to get into fic writing. Many kisses love!# If you wanna connect with me elsewhere, you can find me on Twitter, @lilyandleather !
Relationships: Finn/Rose Tico, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Kylo Ren | Ben Solo
Comments: 38
Kudos: 118





	1. Chapter 1

If you’ve had the privilege of meeting Ben Solo, you know two things about him. Number one: he loves working out. Number two: he fucking hates Halloween. Rey however, loves Halloween, and on this morning was thinking about how all she knew about Ben Solo was those two things. The brand new purple staff polo shirts handed out last week were NOT helping in the least, because his was a tad too small as he carried out boxes from storage as she manned the front desk.

It had been a little over two years since Rey was hired as the primary yoga instructor at Solo Fitness, this boondock town’s one and only gym with any kind of legitimate facility and reputation. Unfortunately, the assistant manager who everyone just called Hux, or General Hugs when he was being annoying, had assigned Rey a closing position starting tomorrow on Oct 1, four nights a week with none other than Ben Solo himself as the only other employee in the building. He would be miserable, making her life hell for the foreseeable future.

“Rose, I’m TELLING YOU! Hux has it out for me. Why else would he put me on that shift, huh? I have yet to hear a logical argument that counters it. Finn and Poe are no help.”

Rose stifled laugher at Rey’s frustrations, “I’m sorry babe, but I can’t do anything about it, or tell you anything differently. Ever since you and Poe had too much to drink at the July 4th party, and nicknamed him General Hugs, chasing him around to GIVE him hugs, he’s hated you two.”

“Oh, come on Rose, that was HILARIOUS, you gotta admit.” Jannah leaned out into the front to make her argument in support of Rey, who motioned with her hands in a thankful gesture.

“THANK YOU Jannah. It was amazing. Still doesn’t negate that Hux is out to get me fired by putting me on closing with the one and only Benjamin “I fucking hate Halloween” Solo.” Rey glared at Rose, the forever optimist. “I’m not kidding, it’ll happen. Especially since its October.”

As if on cue at her mention of the approaching holiday, they heard a loud crash, followed by the owner, Ben Solo, yelling from the atrium entry way, “FOR FUCKS SAKE POE, HOLD THE DAMN LADDER STILL WHEN YOU RUN INTO IT.” Rey ran to the front room away from her post at the front desk, quickly followed by her coworkers Rose and Jannah, to see a frustrated Ben, standing at the top of a ladder, with a box of felt bats having spilled from his perch, to all over the floor. There were dozens of bats everywhere and no one was helping to pick them up. Ben stared defeated at the floor, one hand running though his long raven colored hair.

“Sorry boss, but the ladder scared me when I came around the corner. It is Halloween month after all.” Poe innocently reported. No one in the room believed him. This was punishment for Ben being a dick most days, but especially during spooky season. The staff refused to decorate for Halloween, so Ben had to do it all himself.

“I am well aware of that fact Poe.” Ben practically hissed at Poe’s general direction before climbing down the ladder. He paused as he glanced at the four pairs of eyes looking at him, “Id’ get back to work if I was any of you.” Most people hurried away, but Rey couldn’t help herself. She coyly saluted him, saying,

“Yes, sir.” Rey felt sorry for Ben in a way. He was often cold, demanding, highly organized which gave him particular airs, and prone to anger outbursts when he was easily frustrated. He would never harm any of them, and she silently considered him an undercover soft boy, but he sure could make you feel threatened. His 6 foot 4 height didn’t help at all, and he was just about as wide as tall, in all the right ways. He was frequently found working out literally everything late at night, and the staff had to often chase clients out of the gym lest they try to stay behind hoping to catch a glimpse. Rey was FAR from the last person to admit he was attractive, and she even caught quick glances his direction when she thought he wasn’t looking. He hadn’t caught her yet, that she was aware of at least.

“Goddamnit. . . REY!” Ben shouted again from the front. When she arrived at the foot of his ladder, Ben had all the bats picked up, and was attempting to attach them to the high wall, but had forgotten the tape at the front desk. She grabbed it as she walked past, knowing he had left it behind.

“Missing this?” She asked, waving the tape up over her head.

“Toss it.” He motioned with his hands that he would catch it. She flung it up, higher than his head, and it settled into his grasp easily on its way back down to earth. “You have skills Rey, ever thought of using them to decorate for YOUR favorite holiday?”

“Naw, doing my job at the front desk as ordered to. You are doing a fantastic job up there.” Rey gave him a thumbs up, before walking away. She felt something hit the back of her head. Stopping, she turned around to a bat sitting on the floor. Ben was busy pretending not to notice what was going on, ignoring her stare into the back of his head. This was only the first thing to get decorated, and Ben was already adjudicated. There were dozens of boxes to unpack to prepare the gym for the holiday coming up in 31 days and Ben was going to unpack every single one of them without Rey’s help.

A few hours later, Rey was mapping out her plans for the annual Halloween party held at the gym for members only. It was the one event she was allowed to plan, and she knew she was nailing it this year. She had planned the food, drinks, music playlist, even the theme for the year, “Heroes and Villains.” She already had her costume on order, but wasn’t telling anyone the specifics. Poe, their resident group dance instructor, was apparently attempting to organize some kind of dancing competition for the party, but Rey wasn’t sure the details. She heard a thump and sigh and looked up, not removing her chin from her hand to see Ben stand up, wooshing his hair out of his face. “Bats done. On to spiders.” It took only 10 minutes before Ben was utterly covered in fake spider webs as he tried to make the front desk look like the spider nest from Harry Potter. He had some attached, but it kept sticking to itself and not to the desk like it should.

“Solo, this will be my second Halloween here and I have yet to hear why you hate it so much.” He arched an eyebrow at her. “NO! I’m being serious. No teasing, promise.”

Ben stood up, stretching a bit, a web falling off his head about made Rey lose it in giggles, but she maintained control long enough for him to explain. Placing his hands on his hips, he informed her that, “It’s an utterly useless holiday, for what reason? To give free candy to some needy, annoying kids? Fucking Halloween man, I’ll just stay home and play with my dog, thanks. No reason to come out, get drunk, dress up in ridiculous costumes, to go home with nothing achieved or gained. Utterly fucking crazy.” The only time Rey ever heard him swear was when he was talking about Halloween. He finished his rant, bent down, but stood up again, his finger raised at no one in particular. “And another thing, what exactly is the point of Halloween decorations that celebrate death and separation? It’s not exactly something to celebrate.”

“Because people enjoy experimenting with their dark side Solo.” Finn answered his rhetorical question for no reason in particular as he passed behind the desk to grab a whistle for his swimming class. “They are fascinated by it apparently. So says my psychology professor.” Ben glared at Finn before rolling his eyes,

“Well, people are idiots then.”

He turned back to placing his webs, and Rey leaned over the counter to say, “Well Solo, at least I can write you down as not attending the party then?” He stood back up with a handful of fake spiders in one hand.

“Oh, I’ll be there alright.” He said matter of factly. “Good for business and all, having the manager at those sort of functions. Representation and all that, even if Snoke won’t be attending. Again. Not sure you’ll recognize me though.”

“Ohhhhhh? Gonna dress up are you?” Wiggling her shoulders in exaggerated excitement to get his attention, Rey was more than a little thrilled to see where his imagination might take him. Anything to get into that head of his. “You know the theme, right?”

“I approved the theme, remember?” He saw the excited look on her face, “No, I won’t be telling you before-hand who I’m coming as. No matter how hard you beg.” Rey stuck her tongue out at him, and in return, he placed a large plastic spider on her head before turning back to his work. She heard him mumble under his breath, as his spiders wouldn’t stick to the web, “I fucking hate Halloween.”

Before the day was over, Ben had the bats and spiders up, fake jack-o-lanterns and leaves in the weight room, inflatable witches in the pool room, orange and purple light strings hung from the ceilings EVERYWHERE, and skeletons in yoga poses in Rey’s studio. The latter had to be changed though before a session, because _someone_ had put two skeletons in a very adult position that Rey didn’t need her kids class to see. She grinned to herself as she fixed them to sit down with arms around each other instead. “ _That Solo is a pain in my ass, but damn, is he fun.”_

**************

With Rey’s new schedule she was tasked with four 10 hour work days scheduled. Occasionally she wanted to pick up some more classes on the weekends, but she decided the next morning that working from 3pm to 1am definitely had its perks. For the first time in years, since before college, she woke up later than 7am, and it felt amazing. She took her time getting ready, actually could sit down to have her coffee in her pj’s before fully waking up. Rey was NOT a morning person, never had been, and having the time to wake up before needing to be a functioning adult was something she could get used to. She could finally get her ideal 9 hours of sleep if she wanted to on a regular basis, and it would be glorious. That thought alone made her smile into her coffee. Her apartment was small, and a tad run down, but it was cozy and having the luxury to enjoy it for a few hours every morning, was something she was greatly looking forward too.

Across town, in a way too empty house, Ben had been up for hours. He was pumping iron from his own bench, feeling his pectorals burn with the early morning work. The counting of reps was calming for him; he enjoyed these quiet moments where he could sit in music of his choosing, before beginning his day. He was always at the gym, it was his life, even more so a distraction. Since losing his father he never really had anyone to talk too these days. His business mentor Snoke, and owner of Solo Fitness now that his dad was gone, had decided to retire suddenly several years ago leaving Ben the gym to manage. His first act was to turn it from an exclusive club to a membership based family fitness center. Snoke wasn’t exactly pleased with the move, but it was still bringing in money, and that was really all he cared about these days. He was rarely seen, with the exception of his weekly training sessions. With the new schedule Hux had proposed, Ben needed to close, mostly due to his own need for oversight, but also to just make sure that employees did as they needed to. Besides, it still allowed him to teach his elementary school aged yoga class that he adored. He smiled thinking about those kids and how teaching them, lit up his life in a small way. This however led him to thinking about those two empty bedrooms upstairs, and how he wished they were filled with his own children. At nearly 31, he was losing hope for having a family of his own. He would live out his life, owning and making money at a gym, coming home to a dark lonely house. It was what he deserved for the things he had done, and he knew it. After his workout, he showered, and went upstairs to make himself a breakfast of egg and avocado toast, a flax seed smoothie to use up his spinach that would go bad before too soon, and a bowl of berries and yogurt. It would do until lunch.

Ben rolled into the gym about 11 am, parking his motorcycle and hanging his helmet up on it, walking into the gym in a leather jacket, he saw the gym up and already running smoothly. He grinned at how sharp everyone looked in the new royal purple polo shirts, it was exactly the professional vibe he was looking to foster. He wouldn’t tell anyone his favorite color was purple and he picked it simply because he liked it. The Halloween decorations he put up the night before greeted him with mocking laughter as he approached the front desk.

“Morning Jannah, any news of note?” he asked the pretty, brown skinned personal trainer who was currently manning the front desk. She politely smiled up at him as he placed his messenger bag on the desk.

“Had several sessions canceled already this morning across the personal training board. I suspect holiday activities are starting to eat up some time in people’s schedule. Hux was by earlier, looking for you as well.” That smirk on her face told Ben that conversation was not gonna go over well.

“Did he say what he needed to discuss, and more importantly, in your opinion, can it be put off?” Ben asked her. He hated dealing with Hux, but he had been Snoke’s apprentice before Ben arrived on the scene, and he felt bad firing him. He was just hoping one day Hux would up and leave. Maybe find a nice girl willing to steal him away.

“I’m afraid he wasn’t that open about his needed conversation. He did seem to be in one of his moods though.” Jannah warned Ben often of Hux’s “moods.” Ben knew he was highly emotionally controlled, but Hux was the opposite. Any tiny thing would set him off, it sickened Ben with how easily he let his emotions rule. Snoke would not have been pleased with his admission of a lack of control, no matter the façade he was able to put on.

“Thanks, if you see him before I do, tell him to come and find me in the yoga studio. I’ll be prepping for my class.” Ben smacked the desk top before heading off to his studio. _“Rey’s studio.”_ He corrected himself. He still struggled with giving up teaching classes, it was one of the things he enjoyed the most, but being in charge of the managing and business side, took up most of his time. He walked into Rey’s studio and grinned at her repositioning of the skeletons he left in a compromising pose the day before. He enjoyed teasing her occasionally. She was one of the more playful people here, and she was also not as afraid of him as other’s were, so he felt comfortable poking some of her buttons occasionally. In no time at all, he had the room set up, mats out, fans on . . . “Who was using BB8 last?!” he yelled out into the hall hoping Jannah would hear him.

BB8 was the nickname Poe had given to one of his recent inventions. Poe was tired of constantly needing to sweep the gym and studio floors, and so had convinced Ben to buy several Roomba’s to roam the various rooms to keep a constant eye on dirt. Additionally, since he was the instructor to all of the dance classes and needed music almost constantly, he somehow had attached an Alexa to the tops of the Roomba’s so as they roamed the gym, you would hear various kinds of mood music. Ben didn’t hate the idea at all, and in fact enjoyed yelling out his music selections to see if one of the machines would pick it up. Poe and Finn had named the robot BB8 because they couldn’t decide if he looked more like a B or an 8. So they compromised and required everyone to follow suit. It wasn’t long before everyone grew comfortable with these guys, almost treating them as pets occasionally and more robots were added to the fleet.

“He’s charging over here by my desk, do you need him?” Jannah answered Ben from the front.

“Yeah, once he’s done, could you bring him here.” By the time she brought the fully charged robot to Ben, he had the room all set up for his students.

“Using music huh?” She asked inquisitively.

“We’re doing practice today in breathing and control, using music as our cues. Figured some Disney type music would be recognizable to them.” Ben felt proud of his idea and was looking forward to how he hoped it would play out.

“Awww you do have a heart!” Jannah retorted, a bit too much truth in her tone. “I think they’ll love it, truly. They really do like you, you know right?” Ben slightly blushed at her complement.

“Yeah, guess they don’t see the villain yet.”

“Nope! You’re the hero for them Ben, you’re the strong powerful superhero who’s out to protect them. Of course they love you!” She left after patting him on the shoulder. She was slightly older than him and provided some support when he needed it occasionally. He didn’t get close to people often, but people like her kept the darkness at bay.

Rey was used to being deep into her personal training shift in the mid afternoon, so it felt weird arriving at work this late and not really having anything to do for a few hours. Her yoga classes didn’t start until 5, and her personal training hours had been moved to Saturday’s only for now. She hadn’t seen Ben yet this morning, though she knew his bike was here, and silently wondered where he was. She decided to run by her studio to see if everything was set up nicely. When she rounded the corner, she heard music coming from her room, _“is that instrumental “At Last I See the Light?”_ She wondered as she slowly approached. She had not been aware that Solo taught kids yoga, but she now was. He had a class of about 15 middle schoolers all sitting on yoga mats practicing a sukhasana pose. They were all seated, one leg over the other, eyes closed, in a modified lotus position. Well most eyes were closed. Some couldn’t stop laughing. Ben walked around the room in his polo shirt, black joggers, and his bare feet.

“Clare, good job there but relax your shoulders a bit . . . there you go! Doesn’t that feel a little better?” He encouraged a girl who gleefully nodded her head, eyes still closed. One boy to Ben’s back stuck his tongue out in Ben’s general direction. Almost as if on cue, Ben corrected, “Blake, what did I tell you about making fun of people?”

“Sorry Master Solo, but Jake wasn’t paying attention either!” Rey laughed at poor Blake’s attempt to avoid trouble, covering up her mouth to prevent being heard.

“What do I tell you padawans about tattling on each other?” Ben asked the class as he headed to the front of the room and their eyes followed him. Almost in unison they called out,

“If it is not my responsibility, and no one is getting hurt, keep it to myself!”

“BUT!” Poor Blake called out. Ben with one look in his direction provided all the correction that was needed. “Yes sir, master Solo.”

“Good emotion control Blake, now let’s see if everyone can practice control like Blake has just demonstrated with their breathing.” Ben sat down on his own mat, crossed his legs, posed his relaxed hands on his legs and closed his eyes. “Deep breath in through the nose, hold it, 3, 2, 1, let it out through the mouth, 3, 2, 1. Again. Deep breath in….” Rey watched in stunned silence as this beast of a man had a room full of middle school students eating out of the palm of his hand. It was a side of him she had never seen before, and she was enjoying seeing a side of him he most likely did not show many people. There was a giggle from one of the girls as she struggled to keep the pose and breath in time. Ben opened one eye to peek at them to check that order was maintained. Once he was satisfied that it was, he closed his eyes again. A few minutes passed before he spoke again, “Good job guys, now open your eyes. Tell me what happy thing were you focusing on today?”

“The Blue sky today!”

“My mom’s cookies.”

“My puppy!”

Ben took their answers one by one, validating their responses, and encouraging children who struggled to define what happy thoughts were, or how to focus. “Good job everyone! Was that relaxing today?”

“YES MASTER SOLO!” They almost bounced out of their seats, almost as if expecting something was coming.

“And what is the balanced opposite of relaxation and quiet?” Ben asked, laughter in his eyes.

“DANCING AND EXCITEMENT!” they yelled, and in one fell swoop, they all stood up, including Ben who yelled out,

“BB8, play “ _Zero to Hero_!” Immediately, the familiar tune from Hercules blasted from the speakers. The kids all joined in the dance party with each other, boys pretending to be as powerful as Hercules, play fighting with each other, girls dancing in circles with each other. But the real miracle of the whole event was Ben joining in, dancing with them, hands and arms flailing in the absolutely most dorky way possible, his tongue sticking out at times. It wasn’t long before a conga line had formed behind him. By the time the song had finished everyone was breathing heavy and had laid back down on the floor to finish the session in savasana. Rey couldn’t hold back a laugh and Ben heard her. His eyes met her’s, and without missing a beat he called out to her,

“Padawans! Please say hello to Master Rey!” Ben waived at her, showing the children what to do. They all turned to her and waived.  
“HI MASTER REY!” rang out from 15 young voices. Rey grinned and waived back, “You guys looked like you were having so much fun! I’m sad I missed it!” Ben motioned for her to come join him, so she walked to the front of the class and sat down next to Ben mimicking his pose.

“Master Rey!” One boy in the back raised his hand, “Do you teach yoga like Master Ben does? Or do you just teach adults how to grunt a lot?” Rey laughed at his explanation of dude bros in the weight room.

“I actually do teach yoga and I teach adults how to use weights safely. When you guys get a little older, I might be able to teach you if you want.”

“Oooo could we Master Ben?” a few of the boys asked, their eyes wide with excitement.  
“We could certainly see what Master Rey and I could come up with.” Ben glanced her direction, a smile on his face as well as in his voice. “We’d do it in here, but we might be able to do something like that.”

“Master Rey?” a small girl with brown hair tied up in two buns on the side of her head timidly raised her hand.

“Yes sweetheart, what is it?” Rey answered, getting the feeling the girl was shy and struggled to speak her mind at times.

“Is there anything you want to learn to do but are scared to try? Master Ben has been helping us confront our fears so we can be good padawans.” Rey was both shocked and pleased at the question because of what it said about the man sitting next to her. He had placed his face on his chin, cheekily staring at her wondering what she was going to say.

“Well, I have always wanted to learn to box, but I have been scared I will get hurt because it involves hitting a big sand bag.” The girl’s eyes widened, and she quickly raised her hand again,

“Girls can learn to hit things?”

Ben stayed silent, he wanted to let Rey be an example for this young girl. She didn’t miss a beat. _“Smart girl.”_ He silently complemented her.

“Of course they can! Girls can be strong and learn to hit things appropriately. As long as it’s not out of anger or you intend to hurt someone. Of course girls, and boys, can learn to hit things safely. Girls can be strong in whatever way they want to be! Just like boys can be strong in their own way too.” A large grin moved across the girls face.

“Master Ben, I want to be as strong as Master Rey when I grow up and not be afraid!” the girl concluded.

Rey glanced over at Ben and saw the slightest bit of moisture in his eyes. “Yes you can Emma, if there are things that scare you, or things you are unsure of how to do, you can learn from others how to be physically strong, but also kind and loving. Both things are equal ways to show how strong you are, and you always have me and Master Rey to help you if you need it.” That seemed to satisfy Emma and she bounded out of class with a new spring in her step.

Ben quickly wrapped up the class, and as he was herding children out of the room back to their parents, he stopped to look back at Rey. “Didn’t know you wanted to know how to box. That’s something I’ve been doing for years, but we don’t have any instructors here. If you need a teacher . . . I could show you the way. You know, if you could find time and wanted to.”

Rey’s face lit up with a smile, “I’d like to Solo, Thank you. I’ll let you know when I can start.” Which then caused Ben’s face to light up in an excited smile himself, a rare sight indeed.

“That’d be great. It’s a great skill to have, one of my favorite cardios to complement a weight training regimen.”

“I take it yoga is as well?” Rey teased.

“Well, one has to remain flexible you know. Limits injury, increases recovery time . . . .encourages other skills to improve of course.” His smirk gave away his adult meaning, but with those kids he dared not delve farther. But Rey understood perfectly,

_“Did Ben Solo just flirt with me?”_


	2. Chapter 2

Considering that Rey had never worked the closing shift in her life, she figured it would be a good idea to get some context about what it would be like. Hux, who functioned as an assistant manager under Ben Solo, was in charge of scheduling, education, staff management, HR and any number of things that Ben really didn’t want to do, which was clear to everyone, had basically made people work 9 hour days as a standard practice. 6am-3pm, Noon to 9pm and then 3pm-1am was closing. Normal staff stayed there until 9 pm when the gym started to empty out of clients in general. Sure there were the handful of people who worked odd shifts that needed the gym late at night, but 2 or 3 people could handle them. The only thing that stayed open was one yoga studio attached to the main workout floor, and the main workout floor itself. All the pools, hottubs, courts, outdoor running track, and any classes all ceased operations at 9pm. So with this in mind, Rey was not concerned about what would happen before 9. It was after that until 1 am that concerned her.

_“Concern might not be the right word……uncertainty. That’s better.”_ Rey attempted to comfort her anxiety about being alone with her manager for 3-4 hours a night. The gym closed at midnight officially, but that last hour was for cleaning, closing, taking care of things that needed to be set up for the next day, and more. Sometimes you could clock out early, other days not, but it was a nice shift to work for night owl’s like her, so it wouldn’t be horrid. Now, her manager on the other hand could be a wild card.

It was well known among the staff that Ben Solo had a tad of a temper, and could if provoked, fly off the handle at times and act out physically. The large majority of the time, he lashed out at punching bags, or weights, but rarely, he could act in other ways. Rey never felt in danger of him, just not quite sure how to read him, or predict what could be a possible issue. He seemed a bit protective of this gym, which she didn’t quite understand, but it was his, so he could run it how he liked, she supposed.

_“But with what happened earlier, how will he act tonight? Was that him just being nice, or?”_ Rey dared not think more and counted down till she could grab a minute with Rose. Rose was probably the closest person Rey could count as a best friend. Finn held a special place in her heart because of the way he took her under his wing when she first started working, but there was something about having another woman to go talk to, that made Rose a huge support to Rey. But over the last few months, she had been gaining comfort with talking to Ben, and in turn, he had begun to be nicer to her. At times maybe a little more nice than she was comfortable with fully.

She was able to catch up with Rose after her water aerobics class in the locker room. Rey MAY have been waiting for her, but would deny it.

“Hey, Rose, got a sec?” Rey asked as she leaned around the corner. Rose was drying her hair, standing in her swimsuit and shorts.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Rose sat down on the bench in front of the lockers and motioned for Rey to join her while she continued to squeeze water out of her hair.

“So I’ve had . . . limited experience with dating as you know because of my past.”

“Yep.”

“Well, how do I know the difference between someone flirting, and someone just being nice?” Rey bit her lip, wondering if Rose would be able to figure out the cause of her questions or not. Rose furled her face, clearly in thought. _“Oh, she’s taking this seriously, good.”_

“I think it has a lot to do with the person themselves. Some people come across as very flirty, and they are just being normal nice according to their personalities. It’s how they talk, act, complement others, and it can get them in trouble because their motivation can be overestimated all the time. . . . . but if someone is acting in a different, kinder or gentler way than they normally do, I’d say that could be something like flirting. . . .” Rose still looked like she wanted to say something. Rey swallowed. “I think also asking others who might know the person better than you do, can give context. . . . why?”

“I think Solo might have been flirting with me earlier. . .” Rose stopped drying her hair, and her mouth dropped open.

“Noooo. You’re kidding! What did he do?” Rose had caught Ben looking at Rey without her knowing for months. The boy was finally breaking out of his shell. _“Good on him.”_

“He asked me to help him teach his kids yoga class today when he caught me spying on him. Then told me he could teach me to box if I wanted, since the idiot I am said to the kids it was something I had always wanted to do.” Rey sheepishly grinned at Rose.

“What did you say?”

“I told him I’d like that.” Rey groaned at her admission. Rose belly laughed.

“OH, Rey! You’re in for it now. He LOVES to box, it’s one of this things. He’s TOTALLY flirting with you now! He offered to teach you something he deeply enjoys. Guys do this! They want you to join them on adventures, to do things with them. He asked you to do his favorite thing. He’s totally into you.” Rose could barely keep the glee out of her voice.

Rey groaned louder and laid her forehead on Rose’s shoulder. “Rose, I’m an idiot. How will I survive working close with him now?”

Rose patted Rey on her shoulder. “You’ll figure it out. Maybe take a boxing lesson or two.” Rey quickly raised her head and glared at Rose.

“Gee thanks for your support there.”

“Sorry hun! It gets dead here after 9, I’m not kidding, bring a book, or take boxing lessons from him. It’ll at least give you something to do. Finn and I were always bored out of our minds on that shift, and we always left here ASAP after closing. You’ll need something to occupy your time.” There was a sparkle in Rose’s eyes that made Rey uncomfortable.

“But what if I don’t want him to flirt with me?” Rey asked, hoping Rose would give her some sage advice. She didn’t.

“You have two options at this point, you either give in a bit to see what his flirting means, and where it goes, or you bluntly reject him right away, and deal with his emo ass.”

Rey sighed. “But what if I don’t want to do either, what if I want to be between those two extremes.

“Then you’re on your own I’m afraid.” Rose stood up to go change into dry clothes. “But I’ll say this, I’ve seen him shirtless in the pool babe. I’d think twice before rejecting that hunk of a man.” Rey let out a small frustrated scream, laying back down on the bench, causing Rose to laugh.

“You’re not helping Rose!”

“I know I’m not, just telling you the way it is. The boy likes to workout, what can I say? I’m in a long term relationship, not blind. And if you have a guy like THAT flirting with you, you take it as far as you can go in my opinion.” Rose started to leave, but glanced back at Rey still on the bench before leaving for the showers to change. “You never know what might come from some time alone with someone Rey. At times it can surprise you.”

Rey heard Rose leave. She knew she was right. Rey lightly pounded her forehead with clinched fists. The trouble was, she WAS attracted to him, and not just because he worked out. He was always a tad more nice to her than others and because she hadn’t had that much in her life, it was nice. Really nice. It was just now she was realizing that however. Somehow, she would have to survive tonight, then she could get some sleep and think tomorrow morning. _“Stay busy, ignore him, that’s how I’ll survive tonight. I have to.”_ Rey got up, trying to come up with a list of things she could sanitize with wet wipes for four hours.

Turned out, she didn’t have to guess. Rey walked past the pools when Finn caught up with her, shirtless, just finishing up lifeguarding for the night. “Hey, Rey! Wait up!” She slowed, and turned waiting for him, he caught up putting an arm around her shoulders. “You ready to be locked in here with Solo all night?” He grinned a toothy grin in her direction. She did not return it.

“Very funny Finn, you’re hilarious. Don’t care to stay and keep me company, do ya?” Rey teased him, knowing he would say no, even though she wanted him to say yes. Finn held a special place in her heart, being the first person to welcome her to this town.

“Oh, HELL no. Not with him. He’s cool though, you’ll be fine.” Finn attempted to help support her. He didn’t miss the closing shift as him and Rose enjoyed evenings together frequently, but Rey hadn’t done closing yet, and it was her turn anyway.

“But why does he have to be so . . . . ?” Rey questioned the man

“Standoffish, mean, cold, control freak, anger problems . . . shall I go on?”

“Thanks dude, think I got the picture there. Your sympathy is much appreciated.”

“Just avoid him, keep your head down, don’t get in any trouble, leave as soon as you can. Simple.” Rey smiled softly at him. She loved him, but he had no clue.

“Thanks Finn. Tell Rose I’ll text her when I get off.”

“Oh, she’ll WANT to hear all about it, I’m sure.” Finn left her to head to the locker room.

****************

The evening shift went smoothly for Rey until the gym started emptying of clients and staff at 9 pm. Poe was the last one to leave, after he finished up with his late Zumba class. He walked out still wearing his tank top and headband, gym bag in toe. He threw up the peace sign as he passed Rey, and wordlessly mouthed “good luck!” Rey just nodded in his direction to acknowledge his message. She quickly returned to her paperwork, finishing up her notes for her classes and sessions of the day. There were still a dozen or so clients milling around the gym, but with the courts and pool closing, those staying were concentrating in the studios for yoga, and the weight room on the main workout floor. Rey pulled up the closing checklist on her computer to see what needed to be done yet. It wasn’t a whole lot, but the biggest part was to wipe down all the machines and sanitize floors. She knew laundry wouldn’t be started now, so she decided to check to see if any final loads needed to be dried before closing. They didn’t, but there were piles of towels that needed to be folded, so she started in. When she was about halfway through, she heard a knock on the door. Looking up, Ben stood in the doorway, his hair wet, as if he had just showered.

“You got this covered in here?” He asked gruffly.

“Yep.” Rey looked at him before continuing on with her folding. “Do you need a towel to dry off there?”

“Oh, nah. Just got a shower after working out, it’ll dry eventually.” Ben slapped his hand on the door before leaving. Rey heard him call back to her as he walked down the hall. “I’ll be in the front room mopping if you need anything.” Rey hadn’t realized she had been practically holding her breath their entire short conversation. She was fine with him when other people were in the vicinity, but being alone with him made her nervous. She never knew exactly what he was gonna do. She had caught him more than a few times throwing things out of anger, talking in a raised voice with Snoke when he would come in randomly, harshly speaking to Hux at times. _“Well, Hux deserves it most times for being an ass.”_ Rey smiled to herself thinking about how none of them could ever take General Hugs seriously. He was a wanna be manager and held a grudge against Snoke for picking Ben over him. Rey finished up her folding, restacked the towels into their carrier, and rolled them into the front room. The gym had cleared out more, and less than a half dozen people were left in the main room. Ben was mopping the studios, so Rey gathered the various BB8’s around the gym, plugging them into their outlets to charge over night. Poe had painted them a variety of colors, and they looked like a tiny clone army, which made Rey grin.

“Have a good night guys.” She addressed the roomba/alexa combos, before turning off the light in the front office. Turning back to the main floor, Rey stopped by the closet, grabbing a bucket and sanitizing solution. Filling it up with water and solution, she grabbed a rag and began wiping down the equipment in the gym. Ben was working on restacking and rearranging weights and Rey heard him mumble under his breath, “Can no one in this town restack weights correctly? . . . .Or even at all?” Rey couldn’t stifle her laughter, because she felt his frustration. Just as he finished and had left the room, someone came over and pulled weights down. She made a mental note to reset them so Ben wouldn’t have to, no reason for him to get more upset at his clients. The rest of the evening went surprisingly smoothly overall. Rey considered asking Ben about the boxing, but figured waiting would be more beneficial until the both of them were more comfortable.

At ten till midnight, Ben announced to the gym it would be closing, even though there was no one there. Rey flicked off the lights in the main room, and grabbed her stuff to head out. She almost made it out the door without a word, but as she was leaving she heard,

“Hey, Rey. Wait up.” Rey closed her eyes in an attempt to calm her nerves. She liked Ben, but the way her heart was now racing every time he looked her way made her not trust her instincts. Turning, she responded,

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“I need you to make sure to get the windows tomorrow. You can skip cleaning the machines, the inside of those windows need some attention.”

“Is it too big of a job for you to do yourself? I wasn’t sure cleaning was my assigned task for this shift.”

“Well, no I didn’t mean that, I just meant that when you’re gonna clean next, do the windows instead of the machines. I’m content as long as the machines are cleaned a few times a week, just since you’re new to this shift and all.”

Rey felt heat from anger rising in her chest, but kept it under control. “Maybe the two of us could get it done together, getting the machines AND windows cleaned in one night. Team work is a good thing.” She politely glared at Ben, trying to bore a hole into his soul to make him more understanding.

“No, you’re right.” Ben grabbed his messenger bag and keys to lock up. Rey headed for the door, but he got there before she did and opened it for her, allowing her to walk through before him, so he could set the alarm and lock it after walking through. “It can be a project we can do later this week, that’s fine.”

Rey slightly smirked at Ben, “Not a fan of cleaning there Solo?”

“Oh, quite the opposite, I keep things clean and organized naturally, just wasn’t sure if you would be comfortable working in that close proximity to me. . . . you avoided me a lot tonight.” Ben finished with the door and turned to glance at her, noticing saw her shoulders tense up. He couldn’t see her face, but he could tell he had shocked her.

“It’s just new to me, this shift and working alone and all……”

“I freaked you out by offering to teach you to box, didn’t I?”

“No, no, it’s not that it’s just,” Rey paused, knowing that she couldn’t tell him that he was an ass most of the time to everyone and it rubbed her the wrong way, even if he was oddly friendly to her. “Ok, yeah it was that.” They both laughed at the awkwardness of the current conversation. They arrived to their vehicles, Rey’s car and Ben’s bike, randomly parked next to each other.

“Well, the offer still stands, none the less. And not just for the gym’s benefit,” Ben grabbed his helmet and put it on his head. “But if you want a new skill set, just let me know.” He quickly nodded at her, and hopped on, straddling his bike in his jeans and leather jacket.

“Thanks Solo. I’ll keep it in mind.” Rey slightly grinned at him in response, as he kicked off and rode away. She turned to watch him leave the parking lot in the pitch dark, noticing his license plate for the first time, _RidinSolo_.

***********

“Seriously though! Rose I’m not kidding!” Rey sighed as she walked into her apartment, closing the door behind her. She had called Rose from the parking lot and had talked using her hands free calling in the car on her way home. Rose was having way too much fun with her evening.

“Rey, girl. He wants to wash windows with you?” Rose couldn’t finish her thought as she broke out into a fit of giggles again. “I’m sorry, but Ben Solo doesn’t CLEAN anything but his office ever. He’s totally into you. He never treats any of us that nice. You need to just roll with it as best you can. Keep an eye out, pay attention. You’ll figure it out.”  
“I know I will Rose, I’ve done it my whole life, but I just want a job with no attachments.”

“Too late love. You’ve got all of us, and now him apparently. Let me know if you need anything though. I’ve worked here longer than you have, and we have a tad more insight into the mind of that boss of ours if you get lost.”

“Thanks Rose, I’ll need it.”

“No problem, see you tomorrow, have a good night.”

“You too.” Rey looked at her phone screen after hanging up. Her apartment was cold and dark, but there was nothing some candles and tea wouldn’t fix. She watered her flower, and adjusted the homemade doll that sat next to it, a rare memento from her childhood that reminded her of where she’d come from. Rey had wanted nothing more than a family her whole life, and for the first time thought she had found it at work, she had Rose, Finn, Jannah, and Poe as her closest friends in the world, and felt she should be satisfied with them. Problem was, she wasn’t. There was something still missing, and it upset her that the hole in her soul was being filled with the idea that Ben was paying her attention. She didn’t want him to fill it, but he was, and she was oddly starting to look forward to their alone time at work late at night. She would have to go slow, but Rose could be right, and it might be worth exploring.

Ben however was having less calming thoughts. He had crashed into bed, lights off, exhausted from his day. He had had a rough phone conversation with Snoke about the gym’s finances and how they were being managed. Rose was doing a fantastic job, but Snoke wanted larger profits to line his pocket and hobbies, which Ben was certain were less than legal and had Hux looking into it. _“At least Hux knows how to be loyal.”_ Ben reasoned. Instead of passing profits onto the business or employees, Snoke demanded they go to him, for doing very little work. Ben hated when he came to the gym, but because he was here due to Snoke’s mentoring, he felt a certain loyalty to the man, despite what he had manipulated him to do in the past. Ben couldn’t wait until the man died and the gym would be his and Hux’s to fight over. There were improvements Ben wanted to make, and while he had been able to move prices for the gym down from “club level” and to begin to include more classes, like those Rey and Poe taught, he wanted to make it even more family friendly. Add a smoothie and sandwich bar, even a daycare for children while parents worked out would be great.

Ben’s concern drifted to thoughts of Rey and how she would be amazing to take on more classes with Poe. The two of them were loved by many clients for their skill sets and training abilities, and he wished he could use them more than Snoke was allowing him to. Ben sighed, thinking about ways to make his plans work under Snoke’s nose, but was drawing blanks. His one bright spot was the thought of Rey possibly warming to him. He was cold to everyone, he knew, but there was something about her that had been hard to crack, and he had only gotten her to talk to him in the last 6 months or so. She was gaining comfort, for sure, but he wanted her to move faster and felt like an ass for being impatient. He hoped that his offer to teach would be something that would help convince her he wasn’t the cold monster his other employees saw him as. They struggled with seeing him as he was now, and instead chose to see him as he was a year or two ago, and it frustrated him, but he knew he couldn’t do much about it. His one highlight of work was that Rey was warming up to him, and he finally felt a bit of hope coming back into his life. Hope for what, he wasn’t sure yet, but hope none the less. It was a welcome change.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “No I don’t have a towel,” Rey pointed over to the stack of clean towels in the corner as she walked over to the two story windows along the front wall of the room. “Use one of those.”

With a thud of plastic against the concrete padded floor, Rey dropped her bucket of water at the entrance of the machine and weight room. Ben stood wiping down machines quite vigorously, throwing his washcloth in the sanitation solution when he needed. Rey rolled her eyes behind his back at his clear disgust and frustration at needing to do menial work, and when he was in one of these moods, it was best to leave him alone. He turned with a startled jump to discover the source of the sound. Rey stood with her mop in one hand, the other hand resting on her hip. His eyes moved from the floor up, noticing her white sneakers, her short and small but muscular legs were bare today, topped off with a _“skirt short combo thing,”_ he tried to reason out, “ _Whatever the hell it’s called, I don’t know women’s fashion.” S_ he was wearing the purple staff polo shirt, and her hair was up in a high pony tail. He caught himself gaping at her, and made himself stop by glancing around the room instead.

“You said the windows needed to be cleaned Solo.” Ben watched in horror for his own emotions as she reached around her back and pulled out a squeegee from her waistband. “Care to help? I can’t reach the top of them with this. I have a feeling you can.” Rey raised one eyebrow, reaching the hand that held the squeegee toward him. Ben had no choice, he was mesmerized with her commanding presence and could no longer hold himself off. It made him straighten his posture, it made him willing to do anything she asked him to do. With her one glance and eyebrow raised, Ben had fallen head over heels for this tiny force of a woman standing in front of him. The best part was that she had no clue.

Ben strode over toward her, and it was Rey’s turn to catch her breath. The way he walked when he had space to pace out his strides to their natural distance wasn’t quite uniform, he had a slight “waddle”, but it was commanding and in charge. The way his upper body fell in perfect alignment with his lower body’s movements, chest out, head up, made it difficult for her to look away. The confidence was hot . . . really, fucking hot. He came up to within a yard of her. In one swift movement he grabbed the squeegee from her in one hand, and picked up the bucket in the other, letting it hang at his side. Rey noticed his bicep slightly bulge with the added weight. He took a step closer and said,

“You sponge the window’s, I’ll follow. Got a towel?” Rey could tell by his tone that he was annoyed, but was caught and had too large of an ego to back out now. She had him cornered and there was no way to escape. She enjoyed everything about having this massive man at her mercy, entrapped in his own past words, and her lack of physical height. She had thought up this plan during her morning coffee, and it was working perfectly. She deeply desired to give him a taste of his own medicine and it was more satisfying than she could have imagined.

Ben however was the farthest thing from annoyed as Rey assumed, he was struggling to keep his emotions in check after the realization of what this woman was doing to him. He also wanted to work behind her to have an excuse to check out her ass in a skirt for the first time. He wanted to walk up behind her, pin her up against the wall, and sneak his hand up her skirt to feel her ass. He knew how small she was, he could grab one cheek in its entirety with one hand . . .

“No I don’t have a towel,” Rey pointed over to the stack of clean towels in the corner as she walked over to the two story windows along the front wall of the room. “Use one of those.” She was annoyed with his mood influencing everyone in his presence, and was keeping her answers short on purpose. But he needed to know she was not going to just roll over to his every bidding, even if he was her boss. _“Even though you’re cleaning the windows . . . just like he asked you to . . . goddamn it Rey, get a grip. Why does his simple presence make me want to please him?”_ Rey mentally kicked herself. He set the bucket down in front of the windows, and walked over to get a towel. Rey took the sponge mop, dipped it into the water, and if she stretched her short stature as high as she could with the mop handle, she could just reach the top of the windows, much to her shock and relief.

Ben grabbed the towel, and saw Rey reaching up with the mop, standing on her tip toes to make sure she got every inch of the 12 foot windows. He slightly pursed his lips as his eyes wandered to her ass made perfectly round from all the weight lifting. “ _No amount of yoga can do that.”_ He swallowed and walked over, waiting for her to finish so he could squeegee it dry.

Awkward quiet moments passed between them as they worked together, in harmony for once. Rey would finish a window, Ben would move the bucket for her, she would start on the next one and he would squeegee and dry the window she just finished, slinging the towel over his shoulder to keep it dry and within reach. Rey grew increasingly uncomfortable, “Do you always do this?” She reached over and waved her flattened hand in circles six inches from his face, “masked emotionless bravado thing?”

Ben stopped wiping his squeegee on the window and played with it in the towel over his shoulder. He glanced over in her direction, meeting her eyes and bore deep into her soul. “Is there a problem with it?”

“Yeah, kinda.” Rey put her mop back in the bucket and again, took that commanding stance from earlier that made Ben weak. “Makes it hard to read you and know who you really are. I can’t figure you out and you’re not helping me.” Ben started to avoid eye contact.

“What if I let you and you didn’t like what you found?” He reached and dragged the squeegee down the window. Rey silently gasped in response to his frankness.

“What if I liked what I found?” She countered.

“You won’t; trust me.” Ben shook his head and went back to drying the tool in his hands. “Besides, you’re not exactly easy to get along with either you know.” Rey saw a brief flicker of amusement in his eyes and tone, but she was not amused. She gasped in shock and anger at his report and possibly a little amusement herself.

“I’ll have you know I’m very welcoming and open to everyone, it’s just that people like YOU refuse to figure it out!” Ben’s face twisted in frustration as put the squeegee on a nearby machine. He reached up with his hand and slowly pulled the damp towel off his shoulder as he stood with his shoulder toward Rey. She stood in horror as he refused to make eye contact and instead looked at the towel in his hands, slowly twisting it. Once he had it tightly woven, he glanced at her with a look in his eyes that was as playful as threatening.

“Oh, we do huh?” Ben turned to face her and rolled the towel in his hand. How he wanted to smack her on the ass for her assumptions about him, but he wanted it to be clear his intent was playful. “Enlighten me. How have you been welcoming to me today? Some of those comments were a little cold earlier.”

Rey slightly backed up as he approached her, letting the mop fall to the side of the bucket. “That’s because you practically ORDERED me to do the windows.” She motioned to them as she spoke.

“I’m helping now.” Ben growled, slightly lowering his chin.

“Well . . . technically right now, you want to smack me with that wet rat tail in your hands for annoying you.” Rey searched the room trying to find an escape route. _“You idiot, you’re enjoying this.”_ Rey scolded herself.

“You’re not wrong.” Ben lunged forward, snapping the towel mere inches from Rey’s chest. She was able to dodge to the side just quickly enough to avoid contact. A playful and slightly yearning grin escaped on his face.

“OI! YOU MISSED!” Rey pointed at him in shocked glee, and darted to grab one of the soaking sponges resting in the bucket. She held out the sopping mess toward Ben as a threat; water poured out of it onto the floor in between them. “You try that again, and this gets chucked at your head.” Ben started twisting the towel in his massive hands again, _“god his hands are huge . . . PAY ATTENTION DAMMIT.”_ In a moment of panic, Rey took the sponge in her hand and with as much energy as she could, flicked it in Ben’s direction, splattering him with drops of water landing on his head and chest.

“Oh, you’re asking for it now little miss!” He dropped his towel, grabbing a new sponge out of the bucket and flicked it at her. He did not squeeze it out first. 

“Eeee!” Rey squeaked as she jumped back and attempted to avoid the water, but utterly was now dripping. Her mouth stood gaping open in shock at what her BOSS was doing, but she did not want to stop. She dunked her sponge back in the water, flicking it up in his direction, she nailed his face and chest again; his hair was getting wet.

“Ok, you’ve done it now, Rey. You can’t escape me now.” Ben had not felt this alive in a good long while, but he wanted her soaking wet for daring to confront him. He knew this was poor judgment, but the smile on her face told him he was not the only one thrilled this was happening. For Ben, the feeling of complete freedom, even if it was only for this moment, opened up his soul, but also his body. Him and Rey started to pelt each other with slaps of water from the bucket and sponges, they ran around the room laughing and chasing each other, utterly enjoying the moment. More than a few times, Ben wanted to reach out and grab Rey and take her into a hug to look at her, but he stopped himself every time.

Rey just wanted to see him without his shirt . . . and soaking wet. She was half way there and struggling to maintain a professional composure. _“As you’re throwing more water on your boss, you idiot.”_ She ran around him and hid behind machines, blocking his line of sight as to her precise location. She found the perfect place. “At least I don’t have to work out today now!” she yelled from across the room as she stood on the top a locked stair stepper; the perfect vantage point for attack.

Ben whipped his wet hair around, sponge in one hand. He reached out and pointed to her as he strode across the room. “The high ground does not mean success Rey. You’re easier to find there.” He threw the sponge at her head. Luckily Rey was quick enough to duck, turn around and throw her sponge, nailing him right on the forehead. He looked at her with increased hunger in his eyes as his hand wiped the soap off his face. He glanced over at the towel lying on the ground. Rey followed his glance and could practically read his mind.

“Oh hell NO YOU DON’T!” Before she could finish the sentence, Ben ran over, dunking the entirety of the towel in the bucket and pulled it out dripping water all over the floor. Rey ran down the stairs and hid behind whatever machines were closest, but Ben was too quick for her. Within seconds, he had cornered her and whipped the towel like a baseball bat around with one arm, utterly drenched her in water from its stream.

“HA! See what running away does! I’ll always come back for you sweetheart!” Rey glanced behind him at her only option left. The bucket full of water sat on the floor behind Ben. She took a quick glance at him, ran to the other side of the room, and grabbed the bucket from the floor. By the time Ben realized what she was doing and had stalked over to her, she met his approach with a face full of soapy water splashing out of the bucket. It washed over his frame, hitting his chest first, splashing up into his face. A second later the water streamed down his legs and around him onto the gym floor pooling at his feet.

The shock of what Rey had just done hit them bott as the water hit the floor. Rey stood, holding the now empty bucket in her hands, her mouth gaping open as water dripped off her nose. Ben’s expression matched hers as he held his hands out in a weak attempt at blocking the water from hitting him.

“WHAT. IN. THE. HELL. ARE YOU DOING?!” Hux practically screamed from the entryway. His outburst broke the spell that Rey and Ben were both under. For the first time in who knows how long they looked around the room. Water covered the floor, the machines closest to them, the walls, the windows, and each other. Soapsuds were slowly disappearing, but the shine they gave the water on the floor left nothing to the imagination as to what happened. The room now smelled of window cleaner. Ben let his hands drop to his sides as he straightened up. He shook his arms in an attempt to throw off as much water as possible, though it was utterly useless as his clothes were still slowly dripping water on the floor.

“Pretty sure the answer to that is obvious, Hux.” Ben finally answered, only briefly glancing at Rey with a smirk of pride on his face for annoying his second in command who always seemed to take the fun out of anything he touched. Hux marched down the half a dozen steps into the room and over to where they were standing, trying to avoid the pools of water, but failing.

“I do not care what the two of you do in your off time out side of the gym, but what you do while you are here is one-hundred percent my business, and I will NOT have you doing this sort of childish behavior again. Luckily no one was hurt and could sue us for medical expenses.” He glanced down at his wet shoes with a disgusted scowl, “Clean this mess up Ren.” He glanced over at Rey who still had the bucket in her hand. He took a step her direction and grabbed the bucket out of her hand, “As for you,” He leaned in closer so only the three of them could hear, “I’d suggest you go dry off and change before Ren takes off your clothes for you.” Rey slightly backed up, shocked at his accusation, but also immensely impressed at his observation skills. She did not need farther encouragement to leave the situation and was more than happy to leave Hux and Ben to their own devices. Once she was out of ear shot Hux turned to Ben and said, “You better watch your back, that girl will be your undoing if you’re not careful.” Ben took a step closer so he was inches from Hux’s face,

“I think between the two of us, we know who should be the one watching his back if ANYTHING happens to her. . . . do we understand each other?” The two men glared at each other, neither willing to show weakness by breaking eye contact. Hux straightened up making himself as tall as possible but not quite matching Ben’s height.

“Perfectly.” Hux forced out between pursed lips.

“Well I don’t know about you guys, but this is kinda hot.” Poe interrupted as him and Finn entered the room with new mops and dry towels. “Heard you needed help cleaning up Solo.” He turned to Hux, “and since you told Rey to go change . . .”

“Which is a hella weird comment Hux, even for you,” Finn interrupted. Poe pointed in agreement at him before continuing,

“We figured there was room for being of some assistance.”

“You’re so right Poe.” Ben extended his hand toward Poe, who threw a towel in his direction. Ben caught it without breaking eye contact with Hux, and turned on his heel to start drying machines. Hux turned in a similar fashion and stormed out of the room.

“Aren’t you gonna help though?!” Poe yelled at him. All three men silently laughed to each other.

**********

Rey stepped out of the shower, wrapped herself in a towel, and headed into the women’s locker room. Why they were not connected to each other was beyond her, but at least the hallway was private enough. Rey turned the corner to sneak into the room, but she stopped dead in her tracks. She saw Ben walking out of the men’s shower room. Luckily, he did not see her as his back was already to her, but he was undressed from the waist up, and wearing just a towel below it. She let out a soft squeak, covered her mouth, and practically ran back into the shower room, almost slipping and falling on the wet tiled floor as she turned the corner, grabbing the sink for stability.

Ben heard her squeak and stopped just as he got to the door to the men’s locker room, his hand was resting on the door frame. He contemplated turning around, but figured it better to just let her think he did not hear her. Though, that did not stop him from grinning ear to ear as he walked into the room, thinking about how panicked she was. Her squeak also just confirmed what he had been suspecting for months.

She was attracted to him. “ _I’m not gonna push her, or force her in anyway,”_ but now he knew he was on the right track and smiled to himself out of pure unadulterated joy. Time would work in his favor. Ben made sure to close the door to the locker room harder than he normally would have so she would hear it and could pass by without being seen.

Which is exactly what Rey did. She quickly rushed on dry clothes, and hurried past the men’s locker room to avoid coming into contact with Ben. When she reached the front, the gym was starting to empty out, most of the employees had gone, and the workout floor had been dried as best as it could be. She glanced at her watch, noting she had about 2 hours till closing. She smiled thinking about her evening; and tried to calm her panic for when she would eventually see Ben post shower and in a towel. Even though very little words were spoken in their water fight, she felt that the two of them had started the process of opening up to each other. As she was sweeping dead leaves out of the front atrium he walked up to her, now dried off himself, though his hair was wet and combed back over his head. His shirt was again, a size too small……and didn’t leave anything on his chest to the imagination. _“Did he even fully dry off?”_

“Hey Rey,” he said as he approached her with a shy expression on his face, his lips slightly parted and his hands in his front pockets. “That earlier was . . . . uh,”

“Fun. It was fun. No matter what Hux says.” Rey smiled at him, while internally screaming at herself to stay calm and NOT look at his pectorals peeping out behind his shirt. He sideways smiled at her, not making full eye contact. He saw her eyes and face. The poor thing was struggling to maintain composure and he knew it.

“Yeah it was fun. I’d say we should do it again, but maybe not in the gym.”

Rey chocked as she attempted to laugh at his joke and openness with her. _“Is it a joke . . . or?”_ “Probably a better idea.”

“Most definitely.” He took his hands out of his pockets, and clasped them together in front of him with a clap, “I’ll man the front desk for the rest of the night. If you wanna clear the gym now, maybe we can head home a little early if everyone is out by 11.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me.” Anything to relieve her of the embarrassment she was currently trying to run from was a welcome relief. Rey continued to sweep a variety of rooms for the rest of the night, but there were more than a few shy smiles expressed in each other’s direction throughout the rest of the evening.

Neither Ben, nor Rey, were complaining.

**********

Ben needed a way t burn off his excess energy before he would be able to sleep. The water fight with Rey had been exciting in and of itself, but his reactions to it were unexpected. It forced him to confront his suppressed feelings for her. Ben tapped his fingers on the handle of his bike and shook his foot against the pavement at a stop light, deep in thought. He sighed deeply and kicked off when the light turned green. He had felt feelings for women before, that was not new, but most of them either moved on or out-rightly rejected his attempts. He was never sold on any of them, really. He saw them as pleasant distractions, and while he did not sleep with a woman if he did not have feelings for her, he could count on one hand the number of times he had taken a woman to bed. His experience was . . . limited, to say the least. For him, feelings had to come first, an emotional connection made the sex better. Rey was the strongest connection he had ever felt, and he now knew that she was feeling some of it as well. The question became how she would react to the day’s events.

_“Would she reject me if I tried?” “Does she even want to be . . . connected with me?”_ Any number of questions scrambled with his emotions in his head. Never any answers, just more questions. By the time he arrived home, his insides were jumbled into a mess of nerves and questions. He walked into his home, hung up his helmet, keys, and black leather jacket. He ran both hands through his hair in frustration glancing at the delivery Thai food that was at his door when he got there. He puffed out his cheeks in a deep breath of frustration. He could not eat yet, and put the food in the refrigerator.

He quickly changed into sweat pants and socks and went downstairs to hit something. Boxing had become his chosen outlet the last decade or so to manage his emotions. Both Luke and Snoke had encouraged him to suppress emotion due to a fear of losing control, though their reasons and methods had been drastically different, but in both experiences boxing helped. He started to wrap his hands as he considered the spiritual training with Luke. Every summer as a child and teen, his parents sent him away to hem him “focus his mind” whatever the hell that meant. Now, he focused his mind into the bag, giving his emotion something to attack. He used the power over his thoughts he learned from Snoke to block out unpleasant emotions. Boxing was a way to manage his outbursts, without touching the emotions. The worst part about this is he KNEW what he was doing, and in cases like this with Rey, it was so unfamiliar to him, the emotions would not obey and did whatever they wanted to. He had almost no plan for managing feelings of attraction and the friendliness he felt toward her. It was completely new, and terrified him for fear of failing.

Sliding his gloves on he started to briskly punch the air as a warm up, puffing his breaths in sync with his movements. One beneficial thing from Luke he kept to this day was appropriate breathing techniques,

“So thank you for that.” Ben spoke to the empty and cold basement before moving to the bag. He took a couple of early swings, and his body started sweating. He suspected the tightness in his lower half was an influence on that as well and he reasoned that not wearing as shirt was a good idea. He would need to work out for a bit to calm that down. _“Way down.”_ He thought.

As he continued to pound the bag in front of him with upper cuts, kicks, and stabs, his thoughts filled with Rey and how they grew to be friendly toward each other since she had worked there. She caught his attention from the moment he saw Hux interviewing her, and practically demanded Hux hire her. Luckily, he was already planning to, so no argument need occur. Since then, Ben had been silently watching her learn the ropes of working there and applying her yoga skills. She was not a weight lifter when she came, instead preferring to be very hippie like in her yoga practices. It reminded him of his childhood honestly. Slowly she learned from Rose and Jannah, and took up a regimen of weekly, then thrice weekly weight lifting sessions. That was when the trouble started for Ben.

When she had arrived, she was a sprite, thin, sweet, 20 year old that looked more like a lost girl than a woman. But after a solid year of picking up heavy things, she blossomed into a kickass woman. Not only had her body transformed, but her personality was revealing itself. She was outgoing, friendly, open, spoke her mind, and stood her ground. Her ass was also impressive. Very impressive. Ben took a pause in his workout as Rey’s ass in those booty shorts wouldn’t leave his mind, but her smile was also there and honestly, he did not know which made her more attractive. “Ben, you’re done for. . . .” he mumbled to himself before continuing. He started hitting the bag as hard as he could, trying to stave off his emotions and reactions. He could feel it working in his mind and body, another ten minutes of this and he would be fine and ready for a shower and bed.

“BEN!” The memory of his father’s voice startled him. He had not thought about that night in a long time, but the memory continued, in chunks of time, the moments that stood out to him. “You don’t have to go this way kid. Snoke only wants you for what you can provide him. He wants to use you.”

“Snoke understands me. It’s a shame you and Leia don’t seem to care.”

“We’ve always cared about our son, even though we did not do the best job of it. There was always love.”

“The son you knew is dead. . . . please go. You don’t need to be here.”

“I won’t leave you to fight this on your own.” Han placed his hand on Ben’s right cheek. “You don’t have to live with this. I can get you out.”

“The son you knew is dead. And he can’t come back. Please, GO!” Ben pushed Han’s hand away. “I don’t want to hurt you. I’m torn apart and I want to be free of this pain. But I can’t guarantee my actions will keep us both safe if you DON’T GO.” His father was not heading his warning.

“Let me help you then. I can contact people, we can let law enforcement know. . . you don’t have to do this alone!”

“No, I can’t let you, not anymore. Please, JUST GO DAD! TRUST ME!”

“He stole my business from me Ben, I WILL NOT let him steal my son from me too!”

* BANG *

The memory of the gun shot shook Ben to his core in the moment and snapped him out of the memory. He shuttered at the memory, as he could still hear the shot ringing in his ears. To this day, he did not remember pulling the trigger. His father had come to confront him about Snoke’s shady business dealings and Ben’s involvement in them. However at the time, Ben’s judgment was clouded with Snoke’s propaganda and abuse constantly being whispered in his ears. Promises of financial freedom, of full ownership of his father’s gym, of the Knights of Ren support, the underground connections to provide additional bolstering to the gym’s yearly gains. But the hurt, pain, criticism, doubt, attacks, and blame still rang in his ears daily. His scar was also a reminder of what Snoke and the Knights had done to him that forced him to stay here to protect the people he cared about. He also listened to the whispers of his father’s abandonment of him, of his inability to be a healthy father and role model, of his blatant neglect of Ben in his teenage years when he needed his father the most.

Ben had listened to Snoke too much and had killed his father as a result of Snoke’s influence and threats. Snoke had made the body and the law involvement disappear. To this day, Ben did not know where his father was buried, or how Snoke had achieved what he did, but he had his suspicions. Ben repeatedly pounded the bag for longer than he intended, and when he was utterly exhausted, he stopped, collapsing onto the floor. Tears sprung to his eyes. He felt out of control, and needed to break things. Standing, he started by throwing his gloves off and at the wall, he grabbed his water bottle, towel, light weights, his shirt, and anything else he could find around the room that wouldn’t cause damage.

He finally stood, dripping head to toe, exhausted physically and emotionally, and actively started to push his emotions aside. He had let them out for a moment when his mind was distracted by thoughts of Rey and he was being punished for it. “Rey brings out emotion in me now, huh?” He was angry at himself, but also felt a twinge of relief in the expression of both the light and the dark hidden in his soul. Darkness had been allowed to rise tonight with thoughts of his father and his own self doubt, and Rey’s light had risen to balance it out.

He left the basement still frustrated, but lighter. Definitely lighter.

**********

Rey stood in the shower, letting the hot water cascade over her face and down her body. She probably had not moved in 10 minutes, only to breathe though the water as needed. She already had essential oils going in her room, the salt lamps were on, and tea was ready to go as soon as she was done. She sighed deeply thinking about Ben and how he affected her. She was yet to be with a man in THAT way, and the thought of him being her first terrified her. She knew that he wanted her, that was clear from his eyes alone. She also knew that his emotional outbursts would be what stopped her from running to him one day. He was actively choosing to not control himself and she would not be able to tolerate that. He refused to self-manage, but he dictated their work life with an iron fist. The gym had to be cleaned to his specifications, opened and closed EXACTLY on time, classes run exactly to the time advertised. He was obsessive and extremely organized about everything in his environment, but not in any way, shape, or form that way personally.

They had all talked about it, been annoyed by it, but Rey was now turned on by it. The image of his chaotic energy throwing water on her as he stood soaking wet was making her feel things. Every time she thought of him this night, her stomach lurched toward her throat; it was both uncomfortable and exhilarating. She sighed deeply and stepped out of the water stream, leaning against the shower wall. She was tempted to finger herself, but knew she better not. If she could push him away in her mind and body, it would cease to be an issue at work. At least that was what she was going to try and convince herself. Her body was telling her this was going to be harder than she wanted. The big problem, she considered as she dried off and put on a robe, was that she had seen how kind and considerate he could be. Deep down, she saw the man under the controlling harsh exterior and she believed he COULD be better if he wanted to be.

She poured herself a cup of chamomile tea, and headed into her room, which now smelled of clean salt air and lemongrass. She crawled into bed, sitting in the corner against the wall, she pulled her knees up to her chest as she snuggled under the covers. She blew on her tea slightly, testing its temperature. It was not quite ready. She sighed and laid her head back into the corner of the wall thinking, lowering the mug into her curled up lap.

_“Did today mean anything? What is his plan? How do I respond to him moving forward at work? He’s my boss and he’s near a decade older than I am . . .”_ Rey resolved that it could never work between them and she needed to box up the feelings for him and try to make it as normal at work as possible. She went back to sipping her tea when she felt her phone vibrate with a text notification.

"If Hux causes you any grief for today, you send him my way. Good night Rey."

It was Ben. She held her phone in her left hand and her tea in her right. She kept glancing back and forth between his words and her drink, unsure what to do. His message was classically Ben Solo’s lack of emotion and blunt statements, but there was also compassion and kindness there. He was informing her he would stand up for her if she needed him. Rey smiled as she sipped her tea, continuing to look at the text. She started to feel warm inside and it was not due to the tea.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Shoving himself up to an erect, seated position on his bike, he continued to peddle with his hands on his hips. He waited for the opportune moment when Rey looked his way, as she eventually did. At her glance, he refused to break eye contact, drawing in her attention with his glare. She did not look away either. With all the confidence he could muster, he reached down and grabbed the bottom of his polo and practically tore it off over his head, to reveal his bare chest.
> 
> Bare-chested Benjamin Fucking Solo sent Rey into orbit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up that this chapter is were we start heading into some of that explicit material that warrants the rating! Its gonna be a slow burn from here on out, but will be paying off, I promise! :) As always, if you have comments or suggestions i'm open to it! Let me know what you like, or would like to see more of, i'm always looking for helpful critique and suggestions. 
> 
> ALSO, a major thanks to Bailey again for some inspiration for this chapter, its added another layer to the story I LOVE. And thanks to Kaitlyn, by bestie for helping me edit some this chapter. It helped a lot! 
> 
> Enjoy!

Rey walked into work the next morning a tad unsure what she would discover. She approached the front desk to grab her name badge and to put her things into her staff locker. Poe was talking to a potential client, and Rey decided to stick around to enjoy the show. POE was known as having a reputation for having the most membership sales almost monthly. He was literally the only person who cared. There wasn’t even a “top salesperson of the month” or anything; he just enjoyed the bragging rights. It annoyed the hell out of Hux, who had been trying to learn Poe’s secrets for months and could not come up with a single one. Rey listened into the conversation happening next to her as Poe showed a woman in her 30s brochures with the gym’s rates and services. Rey hoped Poe noticed the ring on her left hand and did not overstep his boundaries. She ALSO noticed that while Poe was wearing the blue dress shirt today, his sleeves were rolled up. For clear reasons.

“Oh, absolutely, ma’am! This is an extremely family-friendly gym and is about to be more so in the future! See? Here.” He pointed to a section on the paper in front of them, folding his arms on the desk, leaning closer to her. “We have a fully functioning Kids Club that runs from the hours of 8 am to 7pm. This allows for easy drop offs before or after work, allowing parents the pleasure of knowing their children will be well cared for by compassionate and understanding staff while they workout.”

_“It’s Hux. It’s literally only Hux,” Rey thought._

“What a relief it is to know that your children are cared for while you are enjoying the rest of the facilities for your own personal workout!”

“Oh, well, that is a nice perk! What are the charges associated per child?”

“Oh, ma’am, for monthly memberships set up with automatic payments, I can arrange it so the Kids Club inclusion is free for the length of the membership. That is not a problem.”

“Really? Wow, that is a great deal!” The woman looked at the brochure, looking pleased with Poe’s deal. Rey knew this “arrangement” was not approved by Ben or Hux.

“Please, take this with you, consider it, and let me know if you have ANY questions. I know it’s a big commitment, so it’s worth taking the time, but it really is an investment in YOU and your children’s futures.”

“How so?” The woman looked suspicious of his suggestion.

“Well, think of it this way.” Poe straightened up and started talking with his hands, which he did when he got excited and close to a sale. “The better you take care of your physical and mental health, the happier environment your children will grow up in. You will model healthy behavior for them and create a culture of health and self-awareness. It’s really an investment in their futures as much as your own.” Rey rolled her eyes. He was good.

“That is an amazing point! I had never considered this before! Who are the individuals that care for the children? Are they qualified?”

“Oh, the MOST qualified, I can assure you.” At this point, Poe leaned over to a small girl—Rey guessed probably about four—holding her mother’s hand and said, “He likes to be called Mr. Hugs, you know.” He winked at the girl and she smiled at him.

“Really?” she asked with a smile on her face. “Mr. Hugs?”

“Yep!” Poe put his finger up to his lips and mocked whispering to her, “I also hear he has a pet cat that he likes to show pictures of.” Somehow the girl’s smile got bigger. Her mother was grinning from ear to ear and within ten minutes Poe had made a sale for a year membership with automatic payments and the “free” Kids Club.

“Bravo, good sir.” Rey mockingly slow clapped. Poe slightly bowed at the waist.

“I’m top salesman every month for a reason, Rey. Better get used to it.” Rey rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, well, at least I don’t LIE to clients. What is gonna happen when she shows up to drop her kids off and Hux doesn’t have them on his list because she hasn’t PAID for the service?”

“That’s for Hux to solve, not me. I got the sale; I’m bringing in the money. He can figure out the minor details!” Poe explained poorly.

“Hux can figure out WHAT minor details?” Hux asked, rounding the corner and picking up a clipboard, interrupting their conversation.

“Oh, I just sold another membership to the gym with a DELIGHTFUL four year old that is thrilled to be coming to Kids Club in the future.”

“Mmhmm,” Hux mumbled while looking at the checklist of children on his clipboard, seemingly not paying attention.

“Did he tell you that he gives away free Kids Club memberships to make the sales these days?” Rey asked, willing Poe to DARE contradict her. Hux stopped glaring at the paper and instead glared at Poe. He set his clipboard down and took a step toward him. Hux had at least a good foot on Poe in height, so the image before Rey was one of hilarity to her.

“You’re doing WHAT?!” Hux yelled, with somewhat restraint due to being in public, but barely enough. Poe started to put up his hands and take a step back in retreat when from across the atrium a child’s exclamation of joy rang out.

“HUGS!” A toddler probably around three bounded over in Hux’s general direction, his father behind him grinning at the greeting. Rey stood in shock as Hux’s expression changed from one of rage to one of utter joy as he squatted down and picked up the child, holding him in his left arm on his hip. 

“Hello, little man! What are you up to this morning?” Hux addressed the child in his arms. The child was already grasping both arms around Hux’s neck, his head resting on his shoulder. Hux took his other arm and reached around to pat and stroke the child’s back. Rey admired how content the child seemed to be in the arms of a man that stoic and massive. The presence of the child seemed to calm his rough exterior. Hux turned and gave a two fingered wave to the father, who headed into the weight room for his workout. Hux turned to Rey. “Thank you for this information. It will be handled appropriately. I have to go work now.” He turned his gaze back to Poe. “I will deal with YOU later.” His glare at Poe was thick enough to make her nervous. “Hey, Daniel, what signal do we give to people who are being bad?” Hux’s attention was drawn to the child, and he pointed at Poe. In unison, Hux and Daniel gave Poe a thumbs down and stuck their tongues out at him. Daniel giggled as Hux strode off toward the Kids Club room with him in his arms.

“Never saw that coming.” Rey stared in astonishment, watching Hux disappear with the child. She suspected he forgave her about last night thanks to the heads up about Poe’s nefarious acts, and honestly, she was perfectly content with that. However she might want to, she could not spend time considering this as her and Poe had a spin class to prepare.

************

“Hey, you remember evaluations start today right?” Poe reminded Rey as she followed him into the spin studio. He recently changed into his trademarked tight pants and white tank top. The neon pink sweat band he normally donned on his lightly graying curly hair would be coming later. Rey was unsure if today was a leg warmer day or not. Rey and Poe were the chosen instructors for spin class and over the past few months discovered a few things about their clientele based on observations and comment cards. The first clear point was that Poe had the best forearms of any employee, and clients openly discussed this post class. When Rey pointed this out to him, immediately the tank tops became standard issue. She was also convinced he took her tip from her expertise in hot yoga, and increased the thermostat by a few degrees in the studio around class time. Hux, with the addition of Kids Club overseeing and general HR duties, was highly in tune with individual employee clothing selection, and demanded an explanation of need from Poe for his tank top usage. More accurately, it was a demand that he NOT wear it—“it’s not standard uniform wear” he had explained—but when attendance steadily increased over time, and a second spin class started, he stayed quiet for the most part. On this topic at least. The fact that Poe’s spin and dance classes were always full of women, and a few gay men, helped convince Hux they would continue to be successful. Of course, Poe fully ran with the fact he was now the most popular instructor. His classes consistently touted the highest attendance and everyone found it absolutely hilarious, except Hux.

“Oh, crap they do? Do you know where Solo’s starting?” Rey had been successfully avoiding Ben all morning and was hoping that track record would continue. Since her revelation to Hux about Poe’s shenanigans , he was avoiding her as well, save for an annoyed glance as he passed her in the hallway, stalking with his arms held behind his back. Her gut was screaming at her; Ben would be in their class for their twice yearly evaluations. She was sure of it.

“No clue. Overheard General Hugs this morning telling him what classes he could look at today. Ours was the first one he mentioned.” Rey stopped rolling out the stationary bikes, and shrugged in his general direction. “HEY, it’s not my fault! I didn’t say a word.” Poe threw up his hands in surrender.

“After last night, I’m not sure I should be in the same room as Solo…..” Rey reasoned. Poe stopped working on his bike, and leaned on it, looking at her.

“Yeah, what EXACTLY was going on there, because everyone’s been talking about it all morning. Just so you know.”

“UGH POE. Don’t tell me that!” Rey started to roll her bike out again to avoid his gaze. He continued to stare at her, seeking enlightened information. “It just grew from annoyance to something much bigger. It’s not like it was only me!” she waved her hand to no one in particular as she walked back to get another bike. “He continued it as well you know.”

“Oh, I do know! I helped him clean up the mess, remember? I saw how he turned away when your name was mentioned Rey. He digs you.” Poe nodded his head, turning to set up his bike at the front of the room. Rey covered her ears,

“Stop it Poe, ughhhhhh. I don’t need to hear that this morning. 

“Eh, I think he’ll be fine, honestly. He’s not as moody these days. Still angry occasionally, but most certainly less moody.”

“He smiles more.” Rey admitted with a sideways head nod, as she considered differences she had noticed over the past few months. He WAS more amicable to everyone lately. She doubted this was solely due to her, but she also was not blind to the fact that he was often kinder with her than others, writ large.

“See?” Poe motioned toward her in acknowledgement with his whole hand. “All I’m saying, is there are a large number of women, and a few men, who come here that WISH they could have his attention, the way he attunes to you. You’ve been handed a gift here, and I’m not telling you what to do, but if I was you, I’d consider it.”

“Consider what?” Rey grabbed her bike and dragged it over next to Poe’s, placing her water bottle in the holder. Poe slipped on his pink sweat band.

“Rey, really, come on. He’s a beast of a man. If you don’t fuck him soon we’re all gonna perish from the sexual tension oozing out of the both of you. Trust me, we HAVE discussed this in depth. I’ll lock the two of you in here overnight if I have to.”

“Nice to know my sex life is the conversation of choice around here. Thanks for that.” Rey felt anger rising in her directed at Poe, but also at herself because he was right. There WAS sexual tension between the two of them, and while she was feeling it, she was unsure if it was coming from Ben as well. Poe just confirmed that it indeed was. Poe gave her a small tap on the shoulder to encourage her to look at him. When she did, he was pointing at his face.

“I’m a man, I know what I’m seeing, and trust me, he wants you. Bad.” He smiled at her with compassion, and not an ounce of sarcasm. Which she deeply appreciated. He did care about her in a friendly way. “He wouldn’t hurt you either Rey. He’s not that kind of person. He’s rough on the outside, but he’s kind and soft on the inside. I’ve seen it.”

“Well, I haven’t, but I’ll take your word for it.” Rey thanked him with her words and a smile.

“He pets my cat when he comes over to my place for drinks.” Both Poe and Rey jumped at the fact that Hux had walked into the room, again unaware.

“DUDE. How do you keep doing that?” Poe asked while clutching his chest in shock.

Hux paused in thought, “Ballet as a child. My mother was ruthless.” Poe frowned in sympathy, and walked over to a brooding and expressionless Hux and hugged him. Hux’s arms did not move from being clasped around his back.

“As someone who was also forced to train in ballet, I feel your pain. Know I am here if you need anything.” Poe rubbed his cheek into Hux’s chest. “I now understand your compassion for children between the ages of 2 and 8. That Kids Club has made you a better person. Much more huggable. Do the kids give you hugs too?”

“Get off of me, NOW.” He ordered and Poe released him. “And yes, they do….” Hux glanced between the two of them, “I’m here to let you know that Solo will be in for your evaluation today, so he’ll need a bike set up. He just texted me he’s on his way into work.”

_“That’s why I haven’t seen him….”_ Rey realized. She sighed in frustration at the fact that her efforts to avoid him succeeded only because he literally was not into work yet. _“Oh well, might as well get the awkwardness over with. Now that everyone is talking about us behind our backs.”_ Hux turned on his heel and strode out of the room. “I’ll get Solo’s bike set up. Clients are probably gonna start arriving soon and I still gotta change,” she explained to Poe.

“Okay, I’ll go out front to greet them and direct the new ones back. Meet me out there when you’re done.”

“Cool beans.” Rey set up the bike in the back of the room, on the opposite side from her so she wouldn’t have to make eye contact with him. He could stare at Poe the whole time. She quickly went into the locker room and changed into her tank and shorts, pulling her hair up into a top bun. Glancing at herself in the mirror, she was glad today was a spin and hot yoga day because she didn’t wear makeup. Better to look as much of a hot and sweaty mess as possible if he was going to be in both her classes today. _“SHIT! He’s gonna come to my yoga class too….”_ Rey realized and ran her hands over her face and head. _“FUCK!”_

*********

Ben rode to work on his bike, a little earlier than normal today. The air was finally starting to cool down, requiring a jacket every morning, and on this morning an added scarf for warmth. The leaves were starting to turn, and even though he hated this season, he admired the patchwork of colors on his daily commute. He had an ajenda today that spread beyond his work tasks, and was pleased with his brilliance. After drinks at Hux’s the previous week with copious amounts of Millicent petting, and based on Jannah’s report earlier that morning that Rey steals glances at Ben when he isn’t looking, he set out to confirm if she was attracted to him. His first step was starting the twice yearly evaluations of groups, with Poe and Rey’s spin this morning, and Rey’s hot yoga this afternoon. He knew it was a little manipulative, but he justified his actions by putting himself in a situation he was going to be doing ANYWAY, and just also observing her actions. No big deal. After yesterday, and him sending her the text last night, he knew now was the opportune time to see if she was open to him, or if she would shut him down.

He sat in bed for an hour last night, contemplating on if he should text her or not, yes, while naked and with a small drink in his hand. Before then, their texts were all work related, and while his one last night LOOKED work related, he knew it was exactly the opposite. Her lack of response made him slightly suspicious, as concern nagged at his emotions that she was offended or annoyed, which made today’s plans even more immediate. He could get a lot of information in a short amount of time to hopefully guide his actions forward. He was still waiting on her to decide if she wanted boxing lessons or not, and hoped today might help clarify that on his end. He knew it was impossible to simply approach her and ask her out. Not as her boss. He would need more confirmation on that front before he engaged in anything beyond work related with her. There were no “official” policies against it, as Rose and Finn demonstrated, but it would change the dynamic of the entire environment should they work. He also wanted to keep her away from Snoke as much as possible, and Snoke had already requested Rey to be his personal trainer. Rey reported she was fine with it, but Ben felt something was wrong with Snoke’s insistence of Rey. It felt suspicious, so Ben was going to keep an eye out for her on those nights.

Arriving at work, he walked through the front door; immediately confronted with Rey in booty shorts and a tank top. She was standing with Poe, waiting for their clients, and laughing as they talked to Jannah. He noticed that his presence in the room caused Rey to stand up straighter, and start to finger her necklace, repeatedly. _“My god her ass…”_ She was tiny, everything about her was small, but her ass proportionally drew his eye easily. It was perfectly round and his fingers twitched with desire to grasp it. Ben could feel nervous energy rising in him, and knew that if he didn’t do something, it would cause him multiple physical issues to solve. Spin would be a good way to distract that energy.

“Good morning everyone.” He greeted the three that stood at the desk. They all politely smiled and greeted him. “I’ll be up in my office for the first bit of your class, but I’ll be in.” He turned to Rey, “Can I check out your hot yoga today as well?” Rey crossed her arms in front of herself, but her tone was friendly.

“Sure! No problem. Just know it might get really hot in there today. It’s an advanced class and they like the temperatures near the mid 90s.” Ben heard Jannah stifle a laugh at Rey’s words.

“Oh, trust me, I can handle it.” He winked at her, and grabbing a pack of Halloween M&M’s, bounded up the stairs two at a time to his office. He grinned to himself, thinking of her reaction. The plan was off to an excellent start. 

“It might get really hot in there today, huh?” Jannah mocked Rey’s tone and words. “You okay there Rey, something you wanna tell me.”

“Shut up Jannah, I’m not sure what I’m feeling these days.”

“Clearly.”

Clients were arriving, so Rey used the excuse to escape to the studio with Poe. He could not stop grinning at how nervous Rey looked, but kept his thoughts to himself. Rey greatly appreciated his silence, as she did not feel like elaborating on her feelings in this moment. Before too long, their studio filled with milling clients in polite introductory conversation. Rey quickly did a head count, and every bike was called for except for Ben’s, which stood near the back of the room. Poe was busy greeting clients, as Rey tightened her bun, and got the microphones set up. With music blaring from the purple BB8 and the whirr of the bikes, it was often hard to hear instructors, thus requiring microphones hooked to the instructors ear. Poe always took lead on these classes, but Rey had her own to back him up when needed. Having two instructors increased comfort levels of many new clients with a primary male instructor, so a female presence in the room was often industry recommended. Rey enjoyed the classes well enough, so being secondary to Poe for an hour suited her just fine a few days a week. She climbed on the bike, getting it adjusted to her needs, and sat with her hands resting on her thighs, waiting for Poe to start.

She took a sip of water as Poe climbed up onto his bike, “BB8 play ‘Spin Playlist number 4’,” the sounds of “Rollin’” burst out as Poe mounted his bike and started. “Ok, ladies! And you few gentlemen who are brave enough to come—I see you, let’s get going! Adjust that resistance to the easiest you want it to be today, and let’s get warmed up!” Rey glanced down at her resistance, moving it to a 3, and heard the door open in front of her. It was not uncommon for people to join in late, and that was on them, but when Rey heard the door, her stomach dropped to the floor. She knew he had come in.

When she looked up and started peddling her bike, she was horrified to see Ben picking up the bike, in one arm, from where it sat on Poe’s side of the room, and moving it directly in front of her behind all the other clients. Granted, he was still at least 25 feet away, but his intentions were clear. He set the bike down, and adjusted the resistance before climbing on. He no longer had the jeans on from before and elected to change into some looser black exercise joggers , but the too tight polo shirt was still on. _“Thank god,”_ thought Rey. Before fully sitting on the bike, Ben pulled out the packet of Halloween M&M’s he took from the front desk, opened it up, and placed it in the water bottle holder on the side of the bike. He reached in and grabbed a small handful, popping them into his mouth. Getting onto the bike, he chewed them, and caught Rey’s eyes as he started peddling.

She flicked on her mic to make sure it was working and announced, “Make sure you are taking water as you need to! It’s best to stay hydrated early on in the workout so later on when it gets harder, you don’t have to worry about staying wet.” Poe coughed next to her and Rey blushed at the realization of the “not save for work” context of her statement, and if you read it wrong . . . _“Oh, god, I hope Ben . . .”_ she glanced over at her boss, and he winked at her, sending a wave of heat through her body. _“So that’s where his mind is. Great.”_ Rey tried to recover for the class, “Or rather hydrated. It won’t be a distraction later.”

“Alright ladies and gents, we’re gonna up the resistance by 1! Ready . . . . and go! Lets speed up if you can, if not, that’s cool, just ride it smooth.” Rey shot an angry glance at Poe, but he pretended to not see it. Rey moved her dial by one, and picked up the pace.“No judgment if you can’t, this is all about you and where you want to be. If you need to dial it back, do it, but pick up the pace a bit! Make it as comfortable as you can.” Rey again blushed at Poe’s instructions. It was starting to dawn on her that this class was NOT going to go without sexual innuendos because of the nature of the workout, and she was already counting down the hour. Glancing up at the clock on the wall behind Ben, she counted. _“Only eight minutes have passed . . .”_ It was going to be an excruciatingly long class.

Thankfully, for the next fifteen minutes or so, the class passed relatively normally. Everyone moved past the warm up into the main workout, which helped with distractions. Ben was still popping M&M’s in his mouth every few minutes though. Rey watched his tongue lick his thick lips after every swallow. She also could not stop looking at his defined jawline. She never noticed it before; it was harsh, but also inviting for some ungodly reason . . . . her inability to look away this morning deeply bothered her. Luckily, her bike seat was keeping her . . . balanced . . . for the time being. Poe encouraged yet another increased adjustment, and while Rey complied, she needed more leverage to match the strength, and lifted her ass off the seat to increase her angle of attack. While this movement benefitted her, she also realized what it might do to Ben. She was getting hornier by the moment, and with that came anger, so if it bothered him, so be it.

Ben wanted the class to go EXACTLY like this, and could tell by Rey’s expressions and movements, she was struggling to keep her composure. He however forgot that the traditional progression of a spin class involved increased resistance and for some people, their asses coming off the seats. Rey was in those damned booty shorts, and Ben now struggled to keep his OWN composure appropriate for public and professional company. The only option was to one up her. So he did the first thing that came to mind.

Rey was pushing herself on her bike, her hands white knuckling on the grips, face down in concentration. She occasionally spoke out encouragements and tips to the clients, but Ben could tell her mind was elsewhere—distracted. Specifically her mind was on him, and she was actively trying to push those thoughts away. Purple BB8 started playing “LoveGame” and Ben saw his opportunity. Shoving himself up to an erect, seated position on his bike, he continued to peddle with his hands on his hips. He waited for the opportune moment when Rey looked his way, as she eventually did. At her glance, he refused to break eye contact, drawing in her attention with his glare. She did not look away either. With all the confidence he could muster, he reached down and grabbed the bottom of his polo and practically tore it off over his head, to reveal his bare chest.

Bare-chested Benjamin Fucking Solo sent Rey into orbit. _“Guess he wants to play, wants to play. A love game, a love game. Hold me and love me, just wanna touch you for a minute. Baby three seconds isn't enough for my heart to quit it . . .”_ The lyrics wafting though the room provided the perfect beat for this phase of the workout, but Rey wished it could have been ANY other song on the face of the planet. Every cell in her body wanted to stop her bike, jump down, and leave the room. The one thing she had been wanting to see, was now sitting right in front of her, and she had zero ability to do anything about . . . or with it. Ben apparently was a Gaga fan, as he started to flare his arms out to his side shaking and waving his hands in beat to the song, throwing in some shoulder shrugs as appropriate, his tongue slightly sticking out of his mouth, bit by his front teeth. He was a completely adorable dork in this moment as his eyes lit up with a moment of pure joy she had never seen before, and Rey was falling, hard. His feet pounded the peddles in a similar musical rhythm, and he would bob his head when his hands went up and down. He got a goofy smile on his face as the both of them continued to ride their bikes: Rey’s ass still up in the air in booty shorts, and Ben sat upright, his bare, sweaty chest making it hard for her to breathe properly. Somehow his smile made him even MORE attractive to her. Glancing around the room, she noticed not a single soul even aware at the antics in the back of the room. They were all staring at Poe and his immaculate forearms which were also on full display and were well known to be enjoyed by more than a few participants. Rey admitted the veins in his arm and hands were quite attractive, but she was more of an upper body girl . . . . _“thank god for Poe’s forearms,_ ” she thought to herself. At least they were a distraction from Ben for everyone else.

_“Let's play a love game, play a love game. Do you want love or you want fame? Are you in the game? Doin' the love game. I'm on a mission, and it involves some heavy touching, yeah. You've indicated your interest, I'm educated in sex, yes. And now I want it bad, want it bad, a love game, a love game…”_ Rey groaned as she went back to concentrating on her bike, ignoring Poe’s instructions now. She clicked off her mic for the time being, she did NOT need to accidently make any more suspicious comments to the room. Ben resorted to leaning forward, grabbing the handles on his bike, but he continued watching her intently. His hair occasionally dripped with sweat, his eyes now shown with hunger, his ever present slight grin never left his face. It made Rey both want to melt into his arms, and also slap him for daring to distract her while working. _“Why can’t he just LEAVE?”_

“Alright everyone! This is the last push before we begin a cool down! I want the resistance to be as hard as you can stand it for two minutes!” Poe’s direction echoed out over the speaker system, as the music changed and blared in her ears. She pushed harder on the bike in this moment, than any moment previous, and quickly found Ben’s gaze again; incapable of looking away now. Something clicked between them and they started to match each other’s pace, both no longer sitting down, both staring at the other, both highly turned on. Rey thought about touching his chest, Ben thought about pounding her pussy on the floor in between the stationary bikes, music on, lights off. Rey wanted her hands in his hair and her mouth on his, Ben wanted his hands fingering her to make her come first so he could watch her release. Rey wanted to feed him one of those M&M’s, and Ben wanted to pull her hair as he rode her from behind. Both were glad for the emotion and energy in the room, for its masking effect on their own thoughts and increased drives. The only thing preventing their desires from becoming practice was Poe interrupting, “BABES, time to slow it down, bring that resistance to your lowest setting from the beginning of class. Sit back, take a sip of water, BREATHE deeply. Calm those thoughts down …….”

Rey and Ben both followed the instructions, Rey squirted water into her mouth as Ben finished his M&M’s then took a swig of his own bottle, swishing his mouthful of water in between his cheeks before swallowing. He refused to wipe away the drip of water now dribbling down his chin. Rey wanted to lick it off. He quickly stopped peddling, scooted off his bike, and slinging his polo over his shoulder, turned out of the room and left. But not before winking at Rey once more before closing the door behind him. Rey hung her head in relief, taking a few long deep breaths, as her legs and arms burned with exhaustion. _“How could Ben even walk after that so quickly?”_ She wondered. Her legs were jelly and she would need to sit here for a while to recover. _“I wonder if after sex with him I’d be able to walk? DAMNIT REY STOP IT.”_ Rey rubbed her forehead in an attempt to chase away the thoughts, wondering how she was going to get through her hot yoga class with him there. Poe saw the concern on her face and gracefully waited for the clients to leave before approaching her. He was wiping off his forearms when he turned to her and said,

“So, that was a fascinating class.”

“Gee, ya think?” Rey shot him a look of disgust.

“Hey, don’t blame me, that was all you two, and you each clearly want each other, so hurry it up so the rest of us don’t feel weird about it.”

“Poe, I know you mean well, but I have a yoga class to SOMEHOW prepare for his evaluation in as well.” Rey sighed, “I’m not exactly versed in the art of keeping myself calm in situations like this. I can’t think, my emotions take control.”

“So, you play his game.”

“What?”

“You play his game. You meet him were he’s at. He tries to seduce you, you meet him there, and do it more. He now knows he has you at the end of string, so give it back. Make him just as hot and bothered in that class, as you are now. Men thrive on competition. You make him feel things? He’ll be there for you, he’ll do anything for you. I’d put money on it.” Rey crossed her arms and looked at Poe with doubt, but also considering if what he said was true.

“And if I was able to accomplish that?”

“It’s a slow burn seduction. He won’t be able to get you out of his thoughts. He’ll be thinking about you for days, and in a week be begging for you to come to him. He’s practically there now, but he has control over you and he knows it. He gets off on the control. If you show him that you can stand on your own and seduce HIM? Using hot yoga? In your area of expertise?” Poe whistled, “ you’d have him eating out of the palm of your hand.”

Rey slightly grinned as she thought of orange and green Halloween M&M’s. “Literally or figuratively?” Rey snorted.

“Depends on what he likes to do in bed, which I CANNOT give you tips on, young lady. But will be curious if you ever find out.”

**********

The first step in Ben’s plan worked better than he had ever imagined possible. He stood alone in the shower, letting the warm water cascade over his head and down his toned chest and legs, trying to encourage his body to corporate for the rest of the work day. His back leaned against the tiled wall of the shower. He started rubbing his hands over his face and taking deep breaths as he came down from finishing himself. He made the mistake of thinking about Rey on that exercise bike, her ass bouncing up and down as her legs peddled, and pictured what it would feel like to have her ass bouncing up and down on his cock instead, and immediately needed to take care of some things. Now he could continue about his day without issue. That energy needed driving out of his system, and the shower had been the place to do it. His hands ached to be clamoring all over her skin, his mouth on hers, his hands in her hair, taking out those buns and pony tails she insisted to wear. He thought back, and realized he had never seen her hair NOT up or braided in some way. He lowered his hands by his sides, clinching and unclenching them to try and encourage them to remain under his control. He wanted to storm out of this shower and go find her . . . but knew that was impossible—not even close to realistically happening.

However, none of that really mattered currently. Ben smiled to himself and thought, _“Well, you know she’s into you now, that’s confirmed.”_ The relief he felt at this realization was close to a spiritual experience for him. No longer was there doubt in his mind, there was a possibility that they could try and get to know each other better and see where it led. _“I’m not asking for forever, just to be understood.”_ He did not know much about her childhood and teen years, but he knew that she was alone, and had resorted to survival for a good chunk of her life, and he felt an instant connection to her somehow, for reasons he could not explain. He wanted to explore what their connection could mean. If they could understand each other, if one day they could love each other. 

By his estimation, based on how long it normally took him to finish, he had roughly an hour to prepare for Rey’s yoga evaluation. _“Fuccck. Why did I choose today of all days to do her evaluations?”_ He closed his eyes in frustration and sighed deeply. Turning around to face the wall, the water flowed down his back as he rested his forehead on the cold tile. The hot yoga class was not an ideal choice for evaluation, but it was quite literally the only class she was teaching alone today. _“Heh, teaching solo . . . . bet she could teach this Solo something.”_ He lashed out at the wall, slapping the tile with both palms simultaneously in anger and frustration. He bit his tongue to keep himself from yelling out, lest someone hear him and come to check that everything was in order. He knew he needed to get his emotions under control prior to class time. However, this level of emotion was foreign to him, and while normally lashing out allowed him to expel the anger, the other emotions he struggled to find coping skills to manage them. They were bottling up inside of him and starting to overflow, eating him alive, with no solutions immediately within his grasp.

He sighed, turned off the water, and stepped out of the shower dripping wet. He wrapped a white terrycloth towel around his waist, and headed over to the mirror where his clothes lay haphazardly on the floor. He placed both hands on the grey faux marble sink edges, leaning against it for support. He thought over what he was feeling, _“Its fear. You’re afraid of her not wanting you . . . or worse, wanting you but not long term.”_ Ben looked up into the mirror and saw the face of his father staring back at him. His father’s jawline and nose; his mother’s eyes and hair. He was a perfect blend of the two of them, he always had been. The recklessness of his father, and the poise of his mother dripped though his veins, in constant war with each other. They never got along perfectly, and yet somehow still made it work. The thing they failed at was raising him . . . _“Would Rey abandon me like they did?”_ He knew she was her own person, with her own agency, but his fear of rejection for simply being himself was deep seeded, and the handful of women he attempted to be with before her, had all rejected him once his shadow self came out.

_“This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine.”_ Ben quoted Shakespeare to himself as a reminder that his darkness was still an important part of him, and if Rey chose to remain, she needed to see and accept his dark side. _“Just not yet.”_ He sighed, and slid his jaw left and right in thought, wondering how to work past the fear. He looked up into the mirror again. This time he saw himself. A man newly in his 30s, willingly drowning in his work, in total control of his life until a small, brunette, 20 year old walked into his business and turned his world upside down. His eyes looked tired, drained. There were worry lines on his face that he only now noticed. A man who was worried about his future, and what he would do if Rey was no longer a constant presence in his life. _“Even if she’s not mine . . . having her here is . . . nice.”_

Ben stood up to his full height, watching his chest rise and fall. He eyed the scar on his face that stretched down from his forehead, through his shoulder, onto his chest. It only recently ceased being red all the time due to healing and copious amounts of aloe vera, but after a shower, it still glowed a fleshy pink color. Only a half dozen years had passed since he was blessed with its presence, and the first year of healing was brutal for his self confidence, but throwing himself into weight training helped solve that problem, both for his physicality and mentality. Now he wore it as a badge of honor for what he had over-come, and was still struggling to manage. He ran his fingers through his hair, considering how he could move forward with his plans for the gym, and realized that until Snoke was out of the way, he could do very little. He reached over for his phone, pulling it out of his pants, and texted Hux. The two of them needed to start researching and collecting information. Ben’s gut was rarely wrong, and it was telling him that something was off with their boss, and he needed to get to the bottom of it. Maybe if he could figure out this part of his darkness, he could be more open and honest with Rey, and she would be more willing to see the man behind the mask he wore for the world. Maybe then he would be worthy of her attention.

But until then, he could not be sure.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "As Ben listened to her voice carry over the room, he knew he was not in balance as a man, as a worker, or even as a lover. He needed to find that in himself, and maybe she could help him. He considered attending more of her sessions, this time paying for them, to deepen his yoga practice. To get closer to her. To become the man he needed to be, the man he knew he was not, and had lost touch with somewhere along the way."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Bailey again for giving me some ideas for this chapter, providing some super fun plot points, that will continue a little bit through the fic as background "real life" suggestions! More on this subplot to come involving one particularly annoying email from Hux ;)

“Oh for the sake of all things good and holy!” Jannah slammed down the front desk land line, and rested her hands on the counter, tapping her colored fingernails on the counter in frustration, her jaw set in anger. She took a deep sigh and hung her head in frustration.

“Problem?” Ben leaned over the upstairs railing, calling down toward her before him and Hux walked down the atrium stairway from their weekly check in meeting. Or rather a conversation, because neither man was the “sitting down” meeting kind of person. Email chains were more their speed unless face to face conversation was demanded.

“Kaydel called off AGAIN for the third time this week! Now we’re gonna need to have Rey fill in for her tonight on her scheduled night off!” Jannah sighed again, glaring at the two men.

Ben turned to address Hux, “I thought I told you to speak to her Hux, you’re in charge of HR are you not?” Ben sideways glanced at him, half joking, half seriously questioning. Jannah noticed Ben clinch his fist, in an attempt to keep his anger at bay; after years of working with him she knew it was the first sign.

“I did! When I hired her I told her the policy on ditching, and when she called off twice her first month I had the “warning meeting” with her. That was like mid-September.” He turned to Jannah, “has she missed more?”

“At least three or four times a month she calls off a shift, but this is the third one this week….” She placed a hand on her hip, glaring at her two direct bosses.

“Well, she’s gotta go then.” Ben said, his tone becoming adjutated. “If she can’t show up when she’s scheduled, or find her own replacements for planned time off, then she can find employment elsewhere.

“Why don’t we give her another chance?” Hux suggested, a sheepish grin on his face.

“Oh? Got a crush on her do you Arnie?” Jannah teased him.

“No Jannah, I do not, but not many people are willing to work the night shift,” Hux glanced at Ben who was trying his best to not make eye contact with his assistant manager, “So to find people willing to comply, is shall we say, difficult.”

“From where I’m standing she ISN’t willing to do her agreed upon shift.” Jannah countered. “You can tell Rey she has to stay then, I’m not doing that for you since it’s your call not to fire Kaydel.” Jannah pointed a finger at him to drive home her point, “from now on, she calls off, YOU are the one to find a replacement, not me.”

Be nodded before turning to leave, “Seems more than a fair arrangement Hux,” Ben slapped him on the back, “have fun with that. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have Rey’s yoga class to observe.” Ben started to walk away toward the studios, when Hux called after him,

“You have fun with THAT too.” Ben glanced back his direction, slightly confused. Hux turned with a smug grin on his face and winked at Jannah. They both shared a laugh before returning to their individual tasks.

Ben continued to walk down the hall toward Rey’s studio. When she took over the adult yoga classes as the main instructor, she demanded the larger of the three studios in the back of the gym, and Hux gladly give in to her. Ben thought it was an odd request at the time and wondered if Hux had a thing for her, but soon realized why she wanted it. Within weeks, she transformed the room into a pure oasis of calm and relaxation with a theme of greenery and water. He guessed her growing up in a desert explained her fascination with water, but he could honestly understand if that was the case. She always was taking care of the plants in the gym; watering them, trimming them, even talking to them occasionally. Last spring, he even caught her pulling weeds out of the flowerbeds in the parking lot one morning on his way into work. Her attention to natural detail was astounding.

Behind the wall, he heard excited voices already in the room talking quietly, even though the class was yet to start, that much was clear. He noticed the tradition of placing one’s shoes outside a room was instituted, and stopped to take off his black sneakers. He did not waste time untying them, and instead held the heel with the other foot and slipped them off. He rounded the corner into the room expecting to see mats already laid out, making his entrance almost missed by the class like the one from earlier in the day. He was mistaken.

The moment Rey saw him enter the room, her face lit up in a smile that he could tell was fake, but absolutely friendly. She even waved at him. “Oh, hello Benjamin! Everyone I would like to introduce you to the owner and manager of Solo Fitness, the man himself Benjamin Solo! He’s coming here to evaluate my class, so please,” Rey put her hands into a prayer position on her chest, “do not cost me my job.” The class grinned and laughed and Ben tried to join them, but wasn’t very successful. Her change in composure was shocking, and he was unsure about her intentions. Granted, a part of it he probably deserved because of his behavior earlier, but another part of him looked forward to what she had up her sleeves. 

“Alrightttt everyone! Please find a place around the room that feels comfortable to you. Also, as always, remember the need to spread out so you don’t bump into each other.” She grabbed a mat sitting in the corner, “Solo! You can use my mat today since you failed to bring your own. I’ll be fine on the hardwood floor for today.” She walked over to him and handed him the purple half-inch thick mat. She winked at him before walking back to the center of the room where she would instruct from. He found a place near the back of the room, but since everyone was in a circle around her, it would prove difficult to stay out of sight. No shirtless antics in here. He glanced at the mat in his hand, a Sharpie scribbled “Rey” written on the bottom, identifying the mat as hers. Rey now walked past him to go close the door, as she returned to the front of the room, the very tips of her knuckles on her left hand lightly brushed the outside of his thigh. He could not decide if it was on purpose, or accidental. Either way, she was unfazed by it. “Ok, everyone, get ready! It’s about to turn tropical in here!” Ben glanced at the thermostat, as Rey walked over, turning it up to a sweltering 98 degrees. “We’ll start off a little cooler today on account we have a guest here. I won’t put it up to our normal 105. I hope you all are hydrated!”

_“Shit.”_ Ben realized he forgot a water bottle, and would be needing it soon, judging by how warm it was already feeling . Though some of that heat was coming from inside him, he was sure. Rey walked back to the center of the room, and started her music from BB8, the soft sounds of water flowing and chimes playing in the air, filled the room and his ears. She dimmed the overhead lights slightly, but the salt lamps scattered around the room provided enough mood lighting. She crossed the room and turned on the essential diffuser as Ben settled on her mat, taking a few deep breaths in preparation.

“Alright everyone, today we will be practicing the best of Bikram Yoga. We will not get to all 26 poses today, as some of them are quite advanced, but we will start with the easier ones, and work up to the more difficult ones. If you fall out of pose, or feel that a pose is too difficult for you today, find a pose that is comfortable for you until we move on. Remember,” she slightly paused and glanced at Ben, “the core of yoga practice is to be aware of yourself, your emotions, and to be honest with your feelings. If you are not mentally in a place where you can do something today, there is no shame in backing out.” _“Was she issuing him a challenge to keep up?”_ He wondered. She glanced around the room, as Ben could see her shifting into her teaching personality, evidenced by her motions becoming softer, fluid like, smoother; her vocal tone lowering. Not quite sing-song, but her words were soothing to the people in the room, her voice danced with the music and utterly mesmerized him. 

As she directed them into standing deep breathing exercises, Ben could see why people spoke highly of her classes. He found himself being caught up in the atmosphere of the room as he closed his eyes; the smell, her voice, everything entrapped him as his body relaxed, leading him to become lost in the moment. Without warning, he felt her touch his forehead with the tips of her fingers and whisper, “You may seat yourself now.” Once she passed by, he cracked open a single eye, watching her repeat this practice to everyone in the room. In the softest way possible, she was commanding the attention of everyone in the room, and Ben was a goner, even more than previously. Unlike the spin class, where his attention was directed at her and only her, here he could easily engage in the poses, but because she was constantly walking around the room, could not follow her around with his eyes. She appeared to focus her practice with a “hands on” approach toward her students, touching them in places that needed correction, or to offer assurance of their efforts. They appeared comfortable with this, not flinching when she did touch them in professional ways, even with closed eyes. Throughout the class, every time she passed by him in her instruction, no matter what pose they were attempting, she would reach out and brush his shoulder or back with the tips of her fingers. It sent a chill down his spine every time. It had been YEARS since he experienced this kind of touch from anyone, with this level of care and compassion. He was wound around her finger and there was no place he would rather be.

Rey knew that even though she had lost the first battle, she was winning the war. Even though they were only a quarter of the way through the class, she knew she had Ben’s full attention. But it wasn’t just her body that he was watching, he was watching her _move_. He taught yoga, he knew most of the things she was asking of them, but the intensity in his gaze told her he was paying attention to her essence. _“Poe was right; he would be so proud of himself.”_ Rey tried her best to focus on her class instead of Ben , but still took whatever opportunity she could avail herself of to reach out and lightly touch some part of him, just as a reminder that she was here, and he was under her complete control. She WANTED to reach down and whisper that control into his ear, but knew that was impossible.

Ben felt the yoga class resembled cuddling after sex. If he was completely honest with himself, Ben felt the yoga class resembled cuddling after the sex of the spin class, and he was unsure what to do with the feeling in him. It was a foreign, unfamiliar sensation, sweating practically to death, the smell of essential oils in the air, her touch, the deep breathing, his body relaxing. . . . it was the best feeling in the world. He felt calm, at peace, like he was on the edge of falling asleep, but too afraid to drift into dreams because reality was finally more beautiful. Rey soon sent everyone into savasana to finish the class, breaking him out of his daydream.

“Once you are settled onto your backs, palms up, and into pose, I will come around and place a cold, damp washcloth on your forehead. This is designed to help you relax into a deeper state of being to finish off your practice. Take your time with this pose, empty your mind of everything that weighs you down. Reach down into your soul; find that balance between the light and the dark. We must always strive for the light, but wear our darkness like a cape. Be aware of it, bring it with us, swallow it if we have to, but never flee from it. When we find that balance, we become better individuals.”

As Ben listened to her voice carry over the room, he knew he was not in balance as a man, as a worker, or even as a lover. He needed to find that in himself, and maybe she could help him. He considered attending more of her sessions, this time paying for them, to deepen his yoga practice. To get closer to her. To become the man he needed to be, the man he knew he was not, and had lost touch with somewhere along the way. 

Rey continued to walk around the room, placing folding damp washcloths on everyone’s forehead. She decided to do Ben last and give him some individualized attention. His face looked strained, especially stressed today. Like he needed assurance, or support in some way. At times in her teaching, she would give people personal affirmations during this closing practice. She planned to skip it today, but seeing Ben’s face full of pain and confusion, she decided for him, she would do it. As she approached him reclining on her mat, she crouched down behind his head sitting on her heels and pulled out a washcloth from the scented water. Twisting excess drips from its fibers, she folded it quietly, and leaned over so her chest was touching her bowing knees, placing the cold material over his steaming skin.

Ben felt the cloth hit his head, sending immediate chills down his spine. He felt Rey flatten it out, and slide her hands down its side, and onto the side of his own face. She stopped to lightly massage his earlobes, with activated the pressure point in them. She firmly squeezed this point before he felt her hair brushing his cheek. He heard her whisper into his ear as she continued to massage them, “You strive for balance, but are not finding it, but what you seek you will find, if your heart is open to new possibilities. As the teacher Rumi has told us about balance, “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phrase “each other” doesn’t make any sense. People are going back and forth across the doorsill where the two worlds touch. The door is round and open. Don’t go back to sleep.”

With her whispered words, she ran her hands slowly down his neck and out to the end of his shoulders. When her hands reached the edge of his shoulders, he felt her lean into the wash cloth and kiss it over his forehead, right in the place his Ajna chakra was located. He smelled her perfume; a scent that reminded him of a freshly watered flower garden. He heard her whisper to him a closing mantra, the words flowed and spilled over her lips and watered his dry soul, filling it with the hope he so desperately wanted to believe in. “May your spirituality be awakened, may you find peace and balance in your soul, may your emotions and logic guide you, and may the decisions you make be the ones your heart desires,” . . . and then she was gone.

Ben felt like she was a dream, something not quite in this plane of existence. A sweet smelling presence that wafted into his day, and left just as quickly. He dared not open his eyes as her words echoed in his mind, _“I’ll meet you there….”_ He tried to shove hope away from his mind, as he was sure she did this with everyone at the end of her classes, but today it felt personal to him. It felt like she could read his mind and knew he needed the assurance that there was something in her, drawing her to him. Ben lay for a moment longer, imagining her touch on his ears and face. He wanted her lips on his own forehead. _“Who are you kidding Ben? More like on your lips…..”_ he reasoned. The sounds of the other participants starting to shuffle, gathering their things and packing up, interrupted his thoughts. He remained in a relaxed position until it became awkward to continue. He opened his eyes, taking the cloth off his head and slowly sitting up, twisting his neck from side to side as he attempted to not faint. That was something he did NOT need to happen on today of all days. He glanced over at Rey, who was busy softly talking to a variety of clients, practically glowing as she engaged with them however they needed: a soft smile, a touch on the arm, a hug. Whatever that person needed in that moment, she was willing to provide. This both thrilled him in that she was treating other’s with the same care she gave him, but also aroused disappointment because the reality was, she possibly did not see him as special. Ben slowly stood as he continued to watch her, she glanced over his way once, giving him a nod in acknowledgement.

As people filed out of the room, he grabbed a sanitary wipe to clean the mat. By the time he finished the chore, the room was empty. He rolled up the mat, and walked it over to Rey who was cleaning up the blocks and towels several clients needed throughout the class. When he got over to her and reached out the mat for her to take, she looked up at him with wanting eyes before looking back down and speaking,

“Your Garudasana needs work. You are out of balance and lean to one side in pose.” She commented to him without making eye contact. “Lay the mat out and I’ll point out your errors so you can work on correcting it.” She stood to her full height, hands on hips. “This pose taps into all major joints in the body, strengthening and providing you with a greater range of motion and increased mobility, but it all starts with balance.”

“Are you offering me a private tutoring session?” Ben asked while still holding out the mat toward her. Without a second thought, she walked over to the studio door and shut it with determination.

“If I’m gonna take boxing lessons from you, I have to return the favor. So you’re gonna improve your yoga technique if I have anything to say about it.”

Ben pulled the mat back toward himself. “Yes ma’am.” He dropped the mat on the ground, rolling it out with his foot.

“Get into pose, but sideways toward the mirror so you can easily see things you’re doing wrong when I point them out to you. Start with the legs first.” Ben followed her verbal instructions religiously, slowly moving himself into a pose that closely resembled where she needed him to be. “The legs provide us a foundation to work off of . . . good . . . there you go. If we have no foundation, or don’t know where we come from, we have no future.” Rey critiqued his form with her eyes before crouching down in front of his twisted legs. She looked up at him with the largest puppy eyes he had ever seen from her. “Can I touch you?” His heart skipped a beat as she stood back up making eye contact with him.

“Uh, sure.” His thoughts were difficult to keep under control as he really wanted her to TOUCH him in THAT way, but knew she did not intend it in the way he wanted her too . . . . _“or did she?”_ She reached down and grabbed the back of his ankle moving it slightly down his calf.

“You don’t want pressure on your joints, whether it’s this, or in Tree pose, or something, we never brace on a joint, always a muscle.” She stood, and walked around behind him as he adjusted his legs to gain some stability, and to his shock, she reached over to the side of his thigh and grabbed it, causing him to take a sharp breath in.

“Squeeze your thighs together more to steady yourself onto the one leg.”Her breathy voice lowered slightly to the point Ben began to think of things other than concentrating on not falling over. “A strong core will help you stand, even if it is on one leg. In many ways, we need good core beliefs in order to stand on our own. . . you’re leaning to the right too much Solo, you need to straighten, find that core strength to pull yourself back toward center and that balance.” He tried, but somehow his body would not corporate with him and move in the ways it needed to. After a few minutes of struggle, she reached for the small of his back. “Straighten here, not in the legs, in the back…..see how that feels.” She curled her lips, using her fingers to play with them, deep in thought and watching him. Her touch continued to send chills; it felt nice.

She wasn’t trying to intimidate him, and yet everything she was doing enthralled him. He never wanted to leave her control. He may not be able to achieve balance with his life, but for some reason, having her around, helped him feel on the path toward it, so he would try the pose improvement for her. He attempted to straighten his back as his hands wound around each other at his chest. Shifting his body in the smallest way allowed his back to straighten up without struggle. Rey ran around to the front where he could see her with a huge grin on her face. “You did it!”

“I did? Did what?” Ben panicked, wondering what on earth she was seeing that he could not feel.

“You’re balance for the first time today with this pose. Now, take a minute, acknowledge how this pose fills your body so you become familiar with its sensation. The next time you do this, you’ll be able to replicate the feeling and reach the ideal pose more efficiently. It’ll help, I promise.” She lightly placed her hand on his shoulder in a moment of assurance for him, her face close to his. Luckily, for the both of them, with his hands wound up, he couldn’t kiss her. Because he wanted too, but knew he couldn’t; not yet, the timing wasn’t right.

“So I take it this means you’ll let me teach you boxing?” He asked, hopeful for her confirmation of her earlier statement.

“Yes, I want to learn from you.” She smiled at him, affirming his hopes.

“I think I’m the one who has done some learning today Master.” A dead silence hung in the room as they dared not break eye contact for a moment. Rey was the one to eventually look away, breaking the spell. This indicated to Ben that he could come out of pose. Unwinding himself as Rey turned off the music, he asked,

“Can I come to more of your classes?”

“If you want, it’s your gym. But I think private ones might be better for your yoga practice. We could do them late into our shifts when the gym is emptying out.”

_“Late at night? With them the only staff in the building? That’s practically a dream come true_.” “Yeah, I think we can make that work, not every night of course,” he said, more for his OWN benefit than hers, “but we can figure it out.”

“And the boxing will come in time. Deal?” She stuck out her hand for him to shake it, which he slowly did. An electric shock spread through his body when they touched, something so professional should not have felt like every cell in his body was on fire. But it did, and both of them knew what was passing between them, but to afraid to call it out. Rey was the one to loosen her grip and immediately nervously pushed hair behind her ear. Ben watched her, wishing he had caught onto that need quicker and could have done it for her.

“Do you, uh, want me to take the mat . . . .”

“Oh, no you don’t have to, I’ll just roll it up for tomorrow. No problem.”

“Good deal, I’m gonna head up to my office if you need anything, got some emails to answer and such before our night shift starts.” He reasoned, needing an excuse to get out of her presence before some of these welling up emotions spilled out of his eyes. He also need a long draft of water.

“Oh, sure no problem, I’ll just, . . . . .finish up here and go get my client.” She turned to pick up the mat, “Hey Solo, thanks for . . . . tolerating me.”

He felt the pain in her voice hit his chest _. “Is that all she thinks she is good for, to others? To be tolerated?”_ It was not fair for her to feel that way, and he now knew what his goal needed to look like.

“Please call me Ben . . . and I gladly tolerate you.” He gave her a small smile of assurance.

“Thanks . . . Ben.”

**********

Ben left the room faster than he intended, wondering if he needed another shower, but elected instead to cool off outside. He grabbed his bike keys from his office and headed out for a ride. Some time and space away from the building would help him return to a professional mindset. Today proved to be a game changer for how he viewed Rey—he was now sure she was attracted to him, and actually cared for him too—but he was very UNSURE of how to proceed. He considered striding into her studio, pushing her against the wall and kissing her before confessing his love……but that was not his MO and felt awkward even thinking about it. Their age gap also concerned him a bit more than he was ready to admit, and he needed to mull this over, that much he was confident in. His logical, planning mind started to kick in, calming down the emotion and stopping him from acting. _“Stay in control,”_ he thought to himself until he began to believe it, “ _until the appropriate time. Strive for balance.”_ Rey’s point was taking a hold on his soul and would require increased considering. He attempted to remember the field poem she quoted to him, and pictured the two of them one day coming together, in balance, in each other’s arms. He completed a U-turn at an intersection to head back toward the gym and realized he would need to slow down with Rey, but by taking it a day, an interaction, a moment at a time, he may start to figure it all out. The plan he formulated on that ride helped motivate and provide him comfort in his decisions, and gave his soul a sense of peace. It centered on waiting for her reactions and responses to increased interactions and support. _“Is this what balance feels like?”_ he wondered as he pulled back into the gym’s parking lot, equally calm and excited.

**********

Seeing Ben storm out of the studio sent Rey into a tizzy. _“Well no, it wasn’t quite a “storm” more “with purpose,”_ she reasoned, which helped calmed her nerves . . . a bit. She still could not quite believe she touched him in the ways she did, but she ALSO reminded herself that was part of her practice with many of her clients, if she felt they could benefit from some personalized attention in the moment. So maybe Ben needed to be in her class today to gain some new understanding and the universe told her to humor him. The poem by Rumi, “A Great Wagon,” was one of her favorites and she often quoted parts of it to her clients, but today felt different. She felt a pull to say something to Ben with her words, since her heart could not speak in that way to him yet. She was not even sure SHE was ready to admit what her heart wanted her to, but either way, she knew that if she wanted Ben sooner or later, he most likely was ready for her. But there were aspects of his personality that turned her off, namely his need for control followed closely by his temper. She did not desire an unpredictable man, who sought to control her life. She escaped that before, and was NOT about to invite it back into her life.

Rey heard a knock on her door that startled her from her thoughts, turning around she was confronted with Hux, an apologetic look on his face. “Got a minute Rey?” he asked, leaning into the room via the door frame.

“Yeah, come on in, just cleaning up from class. What’s up?”

“Well, uh, I know tonight you weren’t supposed to work, but uh….

“Kaydel called off again didn’t she?” Rey interrupted, placing a hand on her hip.

“Uh, yeah and I was wondering if you could fill in for her? You know, just for tonight until I can figure out appropriate disciplinary action.”

“Really? What does Solo say about this? I feel like he would have a different opinion.”

“He doesn’t have a say in this really, I’m HR, I make these calls. I’m asking Rey, I’m not demanding here.” Rey scowled at him, trying to figure out his motives. _“Why is Hux suddenly starting to be nice to me?”_ It confused her more than Ben in some ways. 

“What’s in the water here? Solo is starting to be nicer to me, you are being considerate? Something got a hold of you two? Have some scandalous Halloween prank you’re trying to pull on me?”

“Maybe us men are finally coming to terms with our feminine side, and showing a little compassion? Or maybe Halloween just brings out the best of us?” He attempted a small grin, but it was gone almost as fast as it appeared.

“You’re still annoying though.” Rey accused him. It was not a lie, at all. Everyone knew Hux was annoying at times, and none of them could crack through his hard exterior, though many had tried.

“Well, not sure we’ll ever NOT be that, love.” Hux in turn interrupted her attempt at reading his emotions and intentions.

Rey sighed, admitting defeat. “Yeah, I’ll cover for her tonight.” She pointed a finger at him, “though I better be allowed to go get dinner as I don’t have it with me, and this better count for overtime.”

“I give you permission to go get whatever meal you want, and I’ll give you time and a half for tonight, deal?” He stuck out his hand for her to shake, just as a plan formulated in her mind for getting more inside information on Ben. She walked over and grasping his hand, pulled it slightly toward her chest to get his attention, 

“Only if you agree to go to Starbucks with me, I have some information to get from you, and cannot talk to you about it here.”

He scrunched up his face in confusion and a sideways glance, suspicious of her intentions. “This isn’t a date is it?”

“Oh, god no. . . a business relevant meeting. Without prying eyes and ears.” She piqued his curiosity, and he responded by returning her hand shake.

“At your service m’lady. You let me know the day and time and I’ll be there.”

“Deal.” She unclasped his hand and they separated, Hux leaving her alone in her rapidly cooling studio. She took a swig of water, sloshing it around her mouth as she thought. Swallowing, she grinned to herself at her split second conniving. She needed a deeper understanding of what made Ben tick, and what better person to interrogate than the closest thing he had to a best friend? Since she was on duty till 1am now, she was going to make the best of it, maybe get some more Halloween decorations up, maybe call in the menu to the caterer for the party, maybe annoy Ben. The two of them were clearly having a moment today, or more accurately several moments, and testing his boundaries would give her valuable information to see what he could withstand. Besides, she liked his smile, and wanted to see more of it.

**********

However, just because Rey wanted to see more of Ben’s smile, did not mean she was ready to fall head over heels for him at a moment’s notice. Oh no, she was FAR from that. It took her mere hours to discover that Ben was refusing to fire Kaydel for calling off, and she was going to make him pay for it. Her regularly scheduled shift was to end at 4pm and Kaydel was supposed to come on from 6 to midnight, so Rey was taking the two hours between the end of her shift and the start of Kaydel’s to get dinner. She knew from past experience that Ben hated fast food and loved chicken in practically everything “healthy” he ate, so she planned something that would lead him toward cognitive dissonance. It felt practically cruel . . . she loved it.

Across the gym, hiding away in his office, Ben struggled to keep his composure. Rey knew how to push his buttons, and today was a never ending question of how he should act around her. He wondered how she could annoy him more, but suspected the demand she stay this evening was contributing to her mood. _“Is this her way of showing disappointment toward me?”_ he wondered, highly suspicious he was correct. She was a never ending surprise for him, and he doubted she would cease her activities any time soon. He occupied his time until close to 8pm by sending emails and making marketing phone calls. Wandering downstairs on his dinner break, he crossed the atrium to see the gym in typical post-dinner busyness before it faded around 9pm or so.

At that moment, he thought he sensed the smell of hot chicken, followed by a paper bag crumbling ; he followed the sound onto the second floor walking track. Over across the room from the double doors from which he entered, sat Rey in the corner, on one of the rowing machines. Looking out the window, she straddled the sliding seat between her legs, slightly rocking herself forward and backwards, deep in concentration. In one hand, she held a half eaten chicken sandwich and in the other dipped waffle fries in some kind of barbeque sauce that rested on the machine’s bar below and in between her legs. Ben stuck his hands in his pockets and slowly walked over, hoping not to startle her. She must have heard him approach, because she turned around to see him and a smile crept over her face. She reached down into her Chick-fil-A bag and pulled out another sandwich, offering it up to him. He towered over her, glancing down between the offered food and her smile that continued to chew her mouthful.

“Are you seriously gonna eat that here in a gym?” he questioned, though he really wanted to take the sandwich, despite his deep seeded hatred of fast food, just to call her bluff. She swallowed and put the wrapped sandwich back down in the paper bag before answering, “I thought I’d get some lifting in before getting to work.” He raised an eyebrow in her direction in confusion. She brought the sandwich up to her mouth, “lift this whole sandwich into my mouth. . . .” before taking another large bite. Ben grinned a wide toothy smile at her teasing, and slightly laughed. Through a full mouth she explained, “Hux gave me permission to go get dinner whenever I felt like it as payment for needing to stay the night. I plan on eating this whenever, and wherever I like. I do not need your permission, Ben Solo.” She popped another waffle fry in her mouth, before reaching down on the other side of her to grab and sip her lemonade.

“Oh, you’ve made that VERY clear, Rey. Just don’t let any clients see you, K? I don’t need my best trainer’s reputation bring dragged through the mud for a chicken sandwich and barbeque sauce. Got it?”

She mockingly saluted him, “Aye aye captain!” and took another bite. Ben smiled again and left her presence for the evening. By the time his shift was over at 1am, they had successfully avoided each other’s presence and she left right at midnight, so he could not offer to walk her out. He did note that she enjoyed Chick-fil-A though, and tucked that detail away for future reference.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So the Beauty can tame the Beast apparently.” Poe spoke for everyone in the room as they watched the duo climb the stairs. Rey being followed by the beast of a man who was now more like a puppy. 
> 
> “Didn’t see that one coming.” Finn responded. 
> 
> Leaning in, Poe whispered to the gathered group standing motionless, still in shock, “Does that make all of us the enchanted furniture?” 
> 
> “I wanna be the drawer with a baseball bat.” Rose mumbled only loud enough for the small group to hear before they all went their separate ways back to individual tasks.

Tapping fingers echoed off the walls in the practically empty Starbucks as Rey waited for Hux to arrive. The smell of roasting coffee reminded her how early it was at nearly 6 am. She barely got any sleep the previous night due to nerves about this conversation. She stared down the baristas behind the counter, wishing she could mentally will them to make her café latte faster. Slowly, customers started to trickle in as she waited, wondering why she chose this ungodly hour to meet with him. Of course, she actively lied to herself, because she knew that Ben enjoyed coffee and frequently walked into the gym with a Starbucks cup. This time of day was the only way to assure no unfortunate possible interaction would occur. She sighed as a voice emanated from behind the counter, “Rey! Your caffe latte is ready!” She rushed over to the counter, and back to her table before someone else could steal it from her. Taking a hasty sip, she burned the tip of her tongue, and immediately regretted not taking the temperature of her drink into consideration. As she sat down and adjusted the scarf around her neck, she heard the door open and in strode Hux, in a grey turtleneck sweater and black jeans. He was still unshaven as of their meeting, so his light golden red hair matched the scruff on his chin. If Rey’s type was redheads, he would be almost attractive in this outfit. She wished Rose continued her feelings for Hux a while back and hadn’t gone after Finn, and Rey almost felt sorry for him. Rose would have treated him right. She wondered what happened there.

“Morning Hux! The regular, as always?” A shocked Rey turned her head toward the counter as the barista already started working on his cup. Hux’s eyes found Rey sitting in the corner, and shyly waived as he waited for his order, leaning on the bar counter. She strained her hearing to try and listen in on their conversation, but the murmur of other customers and ambient music in the room flooded her ears instead. In only a few moments, Hux approached the table where she sat, pulled out a chair, and sat down directly across from her. He leaned onto the table placing his elbows on the edge,

“Morning Rey.” He sipped his piping coffee as Rey’s embarrassment caused her to read the printed out label: Venti blond roast cappuccino with almond milk and Irish cream.

“Never thought you a Capp person, but the Irish cream makes sense.” Rey blurted out before taking a hesitant sip of her own, minding her burnt tongue. 

“Oh, why come?” He asked with a cocky grin. Rey tapped at her own head indicating the color of his hair. “It’s actually Scottish, so you lose.”

“Close enough.” Rey retorted. They shared a short smile between them.

“So, what is this meeting about love. You have my full attention about your _business_ interests. Or so you told me.”

“We have party plans to discuss Hux….and other things on my mind, but party first.” Rey pulled out a notebook from her messenger bag he had somehow missed noticing upon first approaching the table. On the tablet of paper, she had written at least fifteen things with a variety of notes, questions, and numbers attached to them. “Ok, I’ve picked Niima Caterers to do the food, they’ve agreed to do, what they called “Mexican Fusion” for the party after I told them the theme….

“Fusion with what?” Hux asked, honestly terrified.

“I have no clue. I asked and they said it was hard to describe. Said it was something kinda other wordly slash alien apparently. Maybe they use nitrogen or dry ice to create smoke and since it’s a Halloween party . . . ?” Her voice trailed off in thought. . . “I wonder if they could do that for drinks too?”

“You mean with the dry ice thing?” Rey nodded excitedly at his question, as her thoughts grew louder. “That be some Harry Potter level shit Rey . . . I love it. Those books were my childhood.” He pointed a finger at her in acknowledgement of her idea. Rey wrote a note under her “Food and Drinks” category on her list.

“Now, decorations. Solo’s got some up, but I think we need more.” Rey continued. Hux stifled a laugh. “What?”

“He hates Halloween so much. He’s gonna blow a gasket at MORE decorations.” His grin grew even bigger. Solo needed to be taken down a notch most days. He loved this plan so far.

Rey glanced at him sideways but didn’t comment on his phrasing. “Poe and Finn have already agreed to put more up than we already have, as long as they get to make an Iron Throne for photo ops.”

Hux took another sip of his coffee as he leaned back in his chair in thought. “Like from Game of Thrones?”

“Yep, exactly.”

“Oh, with the theme you’ve chosen I love that idea. People will want to make their own version of the ending up, and the photo op with a little alcohol could create some fun blackmail fodder.” His mischievous side was coming out, moment by moment. Maybe Rey wasn’t so bad after all. “Next idea?”

“Well this one involves you . . . you know tech right?” Hux nodded his agreement with her assumption. “I want a dance floor in the main gym room. Poe has several ideas for a dance off with the Knights of Ren.” Hux chocked on his mouthful of coffee before finally swallowing. He wiped the drop of coffee off his chin with the back of his hand as a bright grin erupted onto his face.

“Seriously? Those desert rats can dance? They barely can keep dirt out of the workout floor, always tracking it everywhere. I’m not sure they even shower regularly. . . ”

“Exactly Poe’s point. Give them a challenge they can’t live up to. We’re already in secret rehearsals for it. Care to join?”

“Oh, hell no, I don’t dance. But I will GLADLY watch with upmost glee. This is stellar.” Rey grinned widely at his confirmation of enjoyment of the situation. He paused as he stared at her for a second before continuing. “You’re not so bad Rey . . . not at all.” He reached out a hand for her to shake. “Official truce? Can we count ourselves friends?”

Rey briefly considered if there were menacing motivations behind his actions, but her innate ability to accurately judge people showed no malice in his actions. She reached her hand over the table and shook it. “Friends.”

“Good. What do you have next on your list?” Rey grinned even wider, Hux was becoming the ally she never expected to be thrilled to have. The next hour and a half was spent putting into place the final party details and discussing logistics. It ended up being more pleasant for both parties, something surprisingly pleasant. They unexpectedly worked effectively together, and when it came to business, thought much the same way. Hux considered that one day Rey would make a good manager and made a mental note to speak to Solo about it at some point soon. Before either of them realized it, it was 8 am and Hux had early duties at work to tend to. They agreed to meet again in a few days to discuss any developments. “And that second thing you wanted to talk about?” Hux asked about as he walked her out to her car and opened it up for her.

“Oh, we’ll get there, you can be sure.” She responded before getting in and shutting the door.

_“Yes, she will do nicely.”_ Hux thought to himself. Ben had no idea what he had coming for him.

********

Rey walked into work later that afternoon armed with a to-do list for the party, as she had blocked out a solid three days to get final things reserved and planned for. Working with Hux solved many of the logistical problems she was facing, and refused to go to Ben for Halloween related things as he would be zero help. Hux, Poe, and Finn were much better options for men who could help her. Kaydel was utterly hopeless, and Rose and Jannah were so busy with their own quazi-management roles, Rey hesitated to ask them. She honestly was confused at Rose not being promoted to CFO yet, as her financial and accounting degrees helped Ben greatly when she came on board. Most of her time these days was spent in the financial side of things, and helping Hux run the Kids Club of course, but honestly she deserved a much bigger role in the business than she currently possessed. Rey resolved to bring this up to Hux and Ben as soon as she could.

She heard some mild yelling even before walking into the atrium to the chaos in front of her. Standing at the bottom of the indoor rock climbing wall, stood Jannah and Ben looking up at where the wall met the ceiling and something small and fuzzy was hanging out. Literally. She looked over, and behind the desk on the other side of the room huddled together as if their life depended on pushing back an imposing enemy, stood Finn, Poe, and Rose trying to disappear into the wall if they could. Everyone was yelling at each other to either stay calm or to do something, and no one heard her walk in.

“I’m TELLING you! This place is cursed! How on earth does this happen?” Poe yelled to Ben across the room. Ben turned and shrugged.

“I don’t know idiot! Why don’t you ask the person that left the DOOR open last night! It’s a miracle more animals didn’t get in here last night!”

“I NEW something like this would happen eventually with having minimal staff on late at night!” Poe rubbed his hands through his hair in panicked confusion.

“No you didn’t!” Finn corrected him on his assumption. “You were the last one to walk out last night!”

“I locked the fucking door Finn!” While the two of them continued to discuss the logistics of locking up, Rey looked over to the rock wall, as her eyes were drawn up to the creature chilling at the top of the artificial rocks. She slowly walked over to the bottom of the steps as it became apparent what they were all staring at. Hooked onto one of the overhanging hand grips, slept a small brown bat, perfectly content in his new found home, sleeping away and slightly swaying with contentment.

“I don’t know what to do with a BAT Jannah!” Ben practically screamed at her, clearly nearly at his whit’s end for the day. “Cats and dogs I can handle, but a bat? No thanks.” He ran a hand through his hair, as he often did, and placed both hands on his hips as he walked toward the benches on the other side of the rock climbing alcove. “I FUCKING HATE HALLOWEEN!” His yell echoed on all the glass walls and tile flooring of the building. To further disrupt whatever peace and calm could possibly be left, he kicked an empty plastic trash can halfway across the room. Rey had had enough. She dropped her messenger bag and walked over to where he stomped off.

“BEN!”

The silence in the room was deafening as no one ever had the bravery to call him by his first name. Let alone Rey. The effect of her outburst on him however, could not be mistaken by the gathered crowd. She strode over to him, her 5 foot 5 height dwarfed by his near 6 foot 4 stature, but her slight body possessed every cell of his being, giving her undivided attention as his shoulders relaxed at the realization of her mere presence. She approached him with one hand slightly out as one would calm a frightened animal. Reaching out slowly, she lightly touched the forearm hanging by his side, as she met his dark brown eyes in a locked gaze. Ben felt electricity again at her touch, but its opposite calming effect on him increased his internal confusion. Something about her presence was like a warm summer breeze wafting into the room and surrounding him in light and warmth. A feeling he had not experienced in a very long time. 

“Don’t do this Ben. Don’t go this way. This isn’t you.” Her words were almost in a whisper, but the stillness filled his ears. Something about her felt familiar to him . . . . like home. He no longer cared about the other employees in the lobby, for this brief moment the only people in the room were him and this tiny, yet powerful woman standing in front of him. He felt like what he wanted to say might break him, but it needed to be said. She needed to know who she was getting if she tried to take off his mask.

“This has been me for too long Rey. I don’t know how to be any different.”

“Yes you do. I believe that. I believe you can be better.” Ben glanced away from her gaze in shame and down at the floor. “Hey.” She reached up with her other hand to his chin and lifted his face to meet his eyes again. “The clients do not need to hear the owner of the business, ranting and wailing about a bat. It’s a soft, fuzzy animal, that doesn’t mean any of us any harm. We can get it down, not big deal. No need for any outbursts. We’ll figure it out.” Her soft words were like a balm to his anxious mind. He really could not comprehend what was happening, but not only was she apparently attracted to him, something about her calmed his soul.

He could no longer form words and instead nodded his agreement, his heart hoping she had a workable plan of action in mind. Too soon for his liking, she removed her hand from his chin and arm and looked to Jannah.

“I need some kind of gloves to grab that thing with. They don’t spread disease like everyone thinks, but its best to help them feel as comfortable as possible.” She squinted at the top of the wall to check on the bat’s sleeping habits. “He’s still out so we may have a chance.” Turning back to Ben she asked, “Can I get you on belay? I’m gonna grab my harness and shoes real quick.”

His trance apparently broke as his voice returned to him suddenly, “Of course….” He stopped himself from saying the word that sprung to his mind quicker than he was comfortable with, but finished the sentence to himself, _“ . . . sweetheart.”_ His father used to call his mother that all the time, and he figured it was engrained into his being as something you call women you care about. But this was the first time it almost slipped out of his mouth _for_ a woman. She smiled softly at him and headed toward her locker at a sprint, her ass bouncing as she went. Passing the huddled mass of employees behind the counter that now also included Jannah and Kaydel, she pointed at them,

“You guys stay fucking quiet.”

Ben was not sure if she was referring to the moment the two of them shared, or the fact that there was a bat they needed to get out of the gym before a full blown panic occured. Ben shook himself out of his haze for long enough to grab a harness that would fit him, and stepped into the leg holes and tightened it around his waist. Clasping on the belay device on the front of his harness, he threaded the rope though it, and as he finished, Rey came bounding into the room in her stocking feet, carrying her climbing shoes and chalk bag in hand. Jannah grabbed oven mitts from the kitchen and handed them to Rey before retreating back to the safety of the front desk. 

“Ok. I’m gonna hook up, and climb up to get him. I’ll get him into the glove, pass the glove to you, and you can pass it onto someone else to take the poor creature outside. If we can keep him asleep, we’ll be fine, no worries.” Ben again nodded his understanding. “Belay on?” she asked after knotting herself into the rope and tightening it. Ben took his cue, and pulled the rope, putting tension on it, as he used the belay device to break should disaster happen.

“Climb on.” He told her she could begin her ascent. Rey effortlessly found a route up the wall as Ben watched her carefully find foot and hand holds that would take her up to the sleeping bat. The wall was about 30 feet tall, and would take a good bit of time for her to get to the bat’s location, so Ben took the opportunity to study Rey’s . . . techniques. Her hands carefully fit into holds that his in no way could, and as all her strength was in her lower half, _“typical of all women”_ Ben attempted to rationalize to keep the tension in his lower half at bay, she could push her body up the wall with less effort than he ever could imagine herself doing. She easily “made love to the wall” by keeping her hips almost flush with the flat surface, only allowing her arms and legs to extend as needed to maintain stability. In practically no time at all, she reached the top and was within inches of the sleeping creature that did not sense her presence. “Hold.” She softly requested as she looked back at the man keeping her safe. Ben took the entirety of her weight onto the harness he wore, using the belay device to help him break so she would not fall. She braced her feet against two holds, grabbing the gloves she previously tucked into her harness, and putting one on, slowly reached for the creature. Gently, she wrapped him into her open hand and took him off his perch. A small squeak came from him as he woke up, and Rey quickly, but gently, put him into the other oven mitt, clasping the open end of it preventing his escape.

“I’ve got him!” Rey called out as cheers erupted from the gathered crowd that was still too cowardly to come help her. Their noise startled the bat even more, as he started to shake in the glove and almost as if in slow motion, the worst thing possible happened before Ben’s eyes. In her attempt to keep the gloved bat controlled, her one hand slipped of the wall, and her one foot followed suit. He felt her weight shift as her rope went slack for a split second. Normally this would have been fine, but her fall surprised Ben, causing him to let go of the belay device and rush toward her as a reflex response, without attached thought. Watching her fall down the thirty-foot wall in slow motion set a chill of terror up his spine. He leapt forward toward wall, and while he did not exactly catch her like he wanted to, he grabbed her body, slamming her into the wall to prevent her from hitting the cement floor, likely cracking her skull open. A sudden gasp filled the room as everyone realized the protective mats were not placed out yet, that would have protected her normally. 

He suddenly found his whole body pinning her against the climbing wall in an awkward position, his entire front half smashed against her back, one hand holding her shoulders to the wall, his other hand . . . shock filled him as he realized it cradled her ass and thigh, on the inside curve. Her other leg sat comfortably between his own, and if he did not move soon, he’d be in trouble. For a quick moment, Ben’s breath found Rey’s neck as his nose nuzzled her hair. Her pomegranate smelling hair . . . . her soft hair . . . how his fingers itched to touch it, how his tongue wanted to caress her ear lobe. His thoughts were interrupted by Rose quickly running over, grabbing the gloved bat from Rey’s hand and ushering him out of doors. Ben stood in shock as he let a final deep breath escape out his mouth and land on her neck. He took the hand resting on her ass, moving it around her waist and pulled her off the wall with one arm, setting her feet down as gently as he could. They de-tangled her from the rope, and as she turned around to untie it from her harness, whispered to him with shy glances up at his concerned face, 

“Thanks.”

“Are you okay?” He searched her face for any anger or malice toward him, but found none.

“Physically, no, everything feels fine. Might have a few scratches in the morning, but . . . . still a little mentally shocked. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine Rey. . . .perfectly fine.”

“Good.”

In an instant everyone made their way over to wall to check that Rey was okay and ignoring Ben’s mistake and practical existence in the moment. He noticed as she assured them she was fine, her eyes kept bouncing back to his, asking the same wordless question. _“Are you sure you’re okay?”_ He nodded his head at her as often as she wordlessly asked.

“He’s safely outside, flew away as soon as I put the glove down.” Rose announced as she came back in. Ben looked at her with wordless thanks, vowing to find a way to pay her back for backing him up. Rey cleared her throat in an attempt to stop everyone from talking.

“Thanks guys, but really I’m fine. I think we can all go back to our own jobs now.” Ben noted the tinge of embarrassment in her laughter. She needed a quick escape from the attention.

“Exactly, the hoopla is over, everyone back. Problem solved.” They started to disperse, but only back to the front desk as Rey and him took off their gear. “Do you want me to take that for you, or . . .?” Ben reached out his hand, asking for her gear.

“Oh, no thanks.” She stood as she gathered her things. “I actually wanted to see if I could use a spare office phone today, as I have some party things to finalize. I’ll just take my stuff up with me, put it back in my locker on the way.”

“I’ll come with you,” he responded, “I can unlock the spare office so you can have some space to get things done.”

“Ok, thanks.” She smiled at him, glad for the chance to escape for a few hours.

“Lead the way.” He picked up his gear, motioning with his hand that he would follow her up to the second floor.

They walked up in silence, refusing to acknowledge the gawking employees that were still gathered in a small huddle behind the front desk, processing what they had just witnessed.

“So the Beauty can tame the Beast apparently.” Poe spoke for everyone in the room as they watched the duo climb the stairs. Rey being followed by the beast of a man who was now more like a puppy.

“Didn’t see that one coming.” Finn responded.

Leaning in, Poe whispered to the gathered group standing motionless, still in shock, “Does that make all of us the enchanted furniture?”

“I wanna be the drawer with a baseball bat.” Rose mumbled only loud enough for the small group to hear before they all went their separate ways back to individual tasks. 

*************

“You’ve got the hot’s for her, don’t you?” Hux asked when Ben walked into the Kids Club before the afternoon post school rush.

“Shut up.” Ben groaned, but did not correct. He walked over to the far wall, hidden from the windows of the room, and crouched down to sit on his heels, his back resting flush against the wall. He ran his hands through his hair. A sure sign something was bothering him.

“You’re fucking horny, aren’t you?” Hux called out.

“Fucking yes.” Ben glared up at his second in command. “Problem?”

“Oh, absolutely none. You nail whoever you want to. I just wonder . . . .” He allowed his voice to trail off to piqué Solo’s attention.

“You want to finish that sentence, I can tell. Might as well do it.”

“I wonder if she wants you.”

“She does. I’ve confirmed that. At least, as much as I can considering I can’t find the balls to actually ask her.”

“Well that’s a start.” Hux started to place coloring pages around the table, as silence grew between them, each man falling victim to the thoughts in his own head. He grabbed a tub of crayons and walked over to Ben handing it to him. “Might as well be productive if you’re gonna brood in my play room.” Ben grabbed the tub and stood up to start passing out crayons to each seat at the three tables in the room.

“Do you ever consider you aren’t worthy?” Ben blurted out, placing a handful of crayons down with a plunk.

“Mmmm? What do you mean?”

“In life. Like something keeps haunting you, keeping the good things away, putting thoughts into your head to make you doubt your abilities.” Ben clarified.

“All the time.” Hux countered.

“You ever figure out how to combat that?” Ben asked, not making eye contact.

“Get laid?” Hux looked up after placing a page with Spider-Man down on the table. The two men met eyes and shared a devious laugh.

“Well, tha’d be a start, for sure.” Ben shrugged in thought as another pile of crayons hit the table.

“The Halloween Party is coming up. I know Rey’s costume. Could be something for you to pursue, just saying.”

“Oh yeah? Care to share?” Ben raised an eyebrow in Hux’s direction.

“You’ll have to come to find out.”

“Pfft. You know I can’t stand the holiday.”

“All I’m saying is a little dancing, a little alcohol, a little chocolate can go a LONG way with a girl who adores a particular holiday. You might end up with more than you originally planned for.”

Ben continued to work in silence, considering Hux’s proposal. The party was only a week and a half away, and he still needed to get a costume.

“Any wise suggestions on a costume for me?” Ben asked, standing up straight from leaving the last of the crayons on the table. Hux looked at the coloring page on the top of the pile in his hand and grinned like an ally cat. He reached for it, pulled it up and showed Ben what was on it, with a mischievous look on his face.

Ben laughed under his breath. He honestly had not considered that a possibility, but now that it was standing in front of him it was perfect. “Ok, but that’s genious.”

“If you get laid, you can thank me. Flowers and gift cards can be left on my desk. Cash will also be accepted.” Hux said, opening the door to the hallway to gather his children. Ben followed him out.

“You wish.” 

***********

Rey heard the laughter of children reach her ears as she walked past the Kids Club. She peeked into the room to see what Hux and the kids were up to. Hux sat in the middle of the room on one of the kiddy chairs, his legs stretched out in front of him. His horde of about eight 6-year-olds gathered around him, and one small girl sat on his lap, crossing her legs over his. They all were looking at something on his phone.

“Is she a nice cat?” a young boy asked.

“Oh, she’s the nicest one! I’ve had her for a while and she’s only gotten nicer.” Hux responded, but before he could finish, felt a shove on his other shoulder.

“MOVE JEFFREY. I wanna see the kitty!” a brunette, pigtailed girl shoved a boy out of the way.

“Mr. Hugs, can I see the kitty too?” a blond haired girl asked from behind him.

“Yes, Megan, please wait your turn . . . . . wait, who told you to call me that?”

“Mr. Poe! He gave me candy today!”

“Of course he did.” Hux mumbled under his breath, determined to do something with that man’s sales tactics.

Rey cleared her throat to announce her presence and Hux jumped practically out of his skin, scooping the child off his lap and standing up. “Oh, hey, Rey. What’s up?” Rey waved a paper in her hand.

“I wanted to bring you the final schedule for the party, and the set up plan for your HR approval. Do you know where Rose is? I’ve got the finances too.”

“Last I saw her she was in her office. I can give it to her though, no biggie.”

“Oh sweet! Thanks!” Rey handed him the additional paper. “Ugh, you better get back to your kiddos. Maybe you should bring in your cat to show them sometime.” Rey winked at him as she left the room and closed the door behind her. She grinned as she turned around and practically ran into Ben’s wide chest. His shirt was again way too tight and did not help after the earlier events.

“Are you recovering from the shock of earlier ok?” He bluntly questioned. She looked up at his face and it was softer than it had been for a while. He was still concerned about her well being. It was endearing, and appreciated, though she was not about to let him know that. One day she hoped to explore where his anger came from, and why she seemed to have THAT kind of impact on his moods. If she knew she had this hidden power, she would have been using it long before now. She wanted to discover about the man behind the mask, but that was not going to happen today.

“Yes, I think so. I’ll be fine by the end of the day, for sure.”

“Is the office adequate for your needs today? You could use mine . . . you know, if you wanted too. You know, if the phone didn’t suit your needs. ” She stopped herself from immediately saying yes as her thoughts continued, _“I’d rather do other things in your office instead of making phone calls…..”_ His face interrupted her thoughts; it was broken. Ben rarely showed emotion on his face, and it came in moments that would easily be missed by someone not paying attention. Did no one see how much pain this man was in, how much he looked constantly on the edge of losing it?

But Rey noticed. She always noticed. “No, I think it will work fine. I appreciate the offer though. I’ve never seen your office before.”

“Oh, ok. . . . . let me know if you change your mind . . . or if you’d like a tour.”

Was that hurt? Disappointment? Whatever it was, it was a flash and it was gone before the stoic mask went back up. She saw his shoulders slump and he walked off to somewhere behind her before she could respond. She could not stay in place, watching his disappointment. There was something happening between them she could not put her finger on, something neither of them wanted to talk about. But she struggled to even give it a name. It was not quite fear, nor was it hesitation. It was an unspoken force she knew both of them sensed, but did not want to call out. It was tied to attraction, but was deeper. She felt there was something deeply hidden in him that could fill her emptiness and she suspected she could do the same for him. She HOPED she could do the same.

But it was too soon, too new, too uncertain. Like touching a live wire, it was unpredictable, and once touched, could explode into an unpredictable chain reaction with no guaranteed outcome.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey held her breath, she saw Ben’s shoulders square and tense up, she knew what was about to happen. In a second, Ben lunged forward; with one hand grabbing the man by the neck of his shirt, the other hand grabbing the man’s arm. Through gritted teeth as he pulled the man’s face to nearly an inch from his own, Ben warned him,   
>  “Take that again, and you won’t have to question which one of the two of us is a pussy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies in advance to anyone who does, or is a fan of CrossFit before this chapter! I needed an alternative "gym" style to place the Knights into, that would contrast with our lovelies at Solo Fitness, and this seemed the most logical option for the story. I do not mean any malice with this and making the Knights a bit of assholes, I know you guys are not like this. You guys are amazingly strong and an inspiration to us all for your hard work and dedication! Much love! 
> 
> We are now getting into some of the chapters that I have already written, so updates may come a bit faster here for a bit, but i'm not making any promises, in case I can't keep them up. Either way, enjoy! Please feel free to comment and kudo away, it helps and motivates me. :)

Finn spent the start of his shift skimming the pool and hottub, as was his usual morning routine when swimmers were few and far between after the early morning rush. Following that chore, his day consisted of a water aerobics class, followed by a beginners kids swim class for ages 4-6, and he did not need another “Mr. Finn, there’s an old lady wig in the pool!” situation _again_ this week. In the middle of his work he glanced up, looked out the widows on one end of the pool room, and noticed a group of tall, muscular men getting out of their vehicles and walking up to the gym, all too large for their shirts. Well, no, they weren’t quite walking, maybe more patrolling, he considered. Without hesitation, he dropped his mesh skimmer straight in the pool and ran to the front desk were most employees were gathered for the time being. They needed to be warned of the impending doom about to descend on their place of business.

“Guys, brace yourselves! The Knights are coming!” Finn yelled ahead of himself as he rounded the hallway corner at a full run, heading into the front office area.

“Oh, god it is Thursday isn’t it?” Poe rolled his eyes and banged his head on the desk. “Why do they have to use OUR gym to train? Can’t they go back to the CrossFit pit they came from?”

“Boxes.” Rey corrected him without looking up from reading _“The Man in the Black Suit”_ in the corner, sitting on a folding chair, her legs propped up on the counter. “They call their gym’s, boxes.” Rey licked her index finger to turn the page. “Hey, they may be annoying as hell, but us ladies don’t complain about them using the facilities, you know. They’re mighty fine to look at Poe, you gotta admit.”

“She’s not wrong.” Rose walked up behind Rey and the two of them high-fived as if rehearsed.

“Whatever. Why can’t they go to their OWN gym to workout?” He asked, glancing out the window and squinting at them gathering to conduct business before they came in. “Did they seriously carpool in two trucks?” He shook his head, struggling to comprehend their cult like relationships and demeanor. “We better kill it at that dance off guys, that’s all I’m saying.”

“Well if Finn could at least memorize his steps for once. . . .” Rose glared at her boyfriend with hands on hips.

“Babe, I’m trying.” Finn walked up behind Rose and put his arms around her neck, kissing her on the top of the head. “Maybe if you would help me more at home……” Rose elbowed him in the stomach causing him to recoil in mock pain.

Rey laughed, and placed the still opened book over her outstretched thigh before continuing, “You know why they still come, Poe.” Rey reached up to tighten her pony tail, “Ben’s been training them for years, they follow him without question because they think he’s just as big of douche bag as they are.” Rey answered, annoyed because this conversation was in public. “Frankly, they bring us really good business and marketing with some of the things they’ve done, so it helps our overhead. All we have to do is tolerate their presence twice a week.”

“You can stop defending him at any point, Rey.” Poe glared at her waiting for a response, taking mental critique notes for the dance off rehearsal later that evening. He was dead serious in this, and Solo Fitness was NOT losing to a bunch of wanna be badasses.

Rey glanced in his direction over the top of her book she had returned to reading, “I’m just saying, its money coming in, I can see the reason he keeps the team going. They go to comps and actually win stuff, which shows off the gym, brings in more clients.” She stood up, highlighter in hand, and put her book on the desk, laying the highlighter next to it. “Business wise, I get it.” Rey shrugged her shoulders to complete her thought. With a burst of cold wind ushering them indoors, the glass front door opened and six large men walked into the lobby, all dressed in exactly the same black, tight exercise shirts, with the logo and name “Knights of Ren” on the front. The men were a mixed bag of body types, hair color and ethnicities. One was a few years older than Ben, three were his age, and the rest were barely into their twenties. The one thing they oddly shared was a similar height and near perfect physiques. While Rey understood why the male employees found the men intimidating, none of the women did, not in any way, shape or form. Mostly because their shapes and forms were Zeus level perfection, _“Unfortunately, they are being led by Hades . . .”_ Rey mentally compared, _“Sure, Ben’s the best looking one of them all, but as a group with his leadership, they are a force to be reckoned with, that’s for sure.”_ She did not stop herself from admitting Ben was attractive, she was beyond that stage of embarrassment at this point, and now only logistics stood in her way. Or his way. Both of their ways. Whosever way it was, something needed to give soon. For some reason, Ben drew toward himself the most attractive men Rey had ever seen, and if they had personalities to match, would be almost bangable . . . when she was drunk and her inhibitions diminished, but still.

“They designed the logo themselves, by the way.” Hux said, not attempting to conceal an ounce of sarcasm, as he snuck up on everyone once again, annoyed at the group’s incoming presence as he stood, hands on hips. “They’re a menace to the whole facility. Constantly dragging in mud everywhere, never cleaning up after themselves, harassing clients in the gym almost daily, leave the weight room in an utter mess with no consideration for others or sanitation staff. Completely uncivilized. I’m surprised Solo hasn’t done anything to dismantle them yet, honestly.” Before he could continue his rant, Ben lumbered down the stairs wearing the same shirt as the Knights. Rey could not help but notice his was even tighter than theirs.

“They didn’t consult me on the design either Hux, you can stop being annoyed at your exclusion of the group.” He winked at the gathered employees, who were confused at his ease of presence, before catching the Knights eyes and motioning them to come over. All of the Knights of Ren went by nicknames, chosen by them, when they were in the gym, so none of the employees knew any of their real names. 

“Kylo, man! How’s it going? Got a good WOD’s today?” Blade yelled from across the room.

“Don’t I always? Got some new fundamentals I’d like you guys to reorient yourself with today. We have regional’s to prep for, remember.”

“Dude, we’ve done enough fundamentals these days, got anything fun or challenging?” Sythe challenged Ben as he gave him some kind of secret handshake as the group huddled around Ben.

“Comps run on rules and techniques fellas, I don’t care how CrossFit does it.” Ben retorted in their general direction.

“Says the man who listens to music while he works out.” Axe stated, sending the pack of them into a fit of laughter as he scratched his week old beard.

“That’s some pussy ass shit there Kylo. Gotta get you to man up one of these days.” Blade retorted before slapping Ben on the arm.

“Or we’ll be forced to give you another one of THOSE!” Arm Canon sarcastically called out Ben’s scar as he lightly went to poke his shoulder. Rey saw Ben’s jaw set in frustration, and could practically see the anger rising as his breaths became deeper and his chest heaved heavier. She knew that if she could touch him, he would calm down, but now was not the time, nor the place, to make a statement of that significance. 

Club reached up and yanked off Ben’s phone case attached to his arm. “Take that ridiculous thing off.” Ben reached for it, and the other man yanked it out of his grasp. Rey held her breath, she saw Ben’s shoulders square and tense up, she knew what was about to happen. In a second, Ben lunged forward; with one hand grabbing the man by the neck of his shirt, the other hand grabbing the man’s arm. Through gritted teeth as he pulled the man’s face to nearly an inch from his own, Ben warned him,

“Take that again, and you won’t have to question which one of the two of us is a pussy.” His anger and steely glare were enough to set all the Knights into their proper places. They were familiar with this rage, and knew not to challenge him in these moments. Rey could see they were all slightly terrified of the 6 foot 4 man who towered over all of them. Ben silently grabbed his phone from the grasp of the man who stole it, and let the Knight go, stalking off to the workout floor. “FOLLOW!” He yelled behind him when they did not comply immediately. The Knights slowly gathered themselves, and wordlessly followed, hesitant to do anything to trigger his anger any farther. They soon settled on the workout floor out of earshot half a level down from the atrium.

“I’ve never understood the whole nickname thing….” Poe questioned Rey who was the only other person still standing at the desk after Ben’s demonstration of power.

“I think it’s a Crossfit culture thing. Once you are accepted into the “tribe,” you get your nickname and that’s yours to carry around and live up to. Creates unity, loyalty, and all that. So, Kylo Ren it is.” Rey tried to answer his question as much as possible, while internally admitting she did not know much about Crossfit culture. “Don’t they all share a “last name” of Ren?”

“I’m pretty sure they do. Which, begs the question, who is Ren?” Poe shrugged when neither of them had an answer.

After a few quiet moments, Rey looked up from her work and announced to Poe who stood in the front office rehearsing moves for the dance off, “I’m gonna go watch……” She let her statement hang unfinished as she left her book on the front desk, and walked into the main floor. Blade was doing his version of pull-ups which resembled a dying fish more than anything. Cardo possessed extremely poor form while deadlifiting, arching his back WAY more than necessary, and Arm Canon was bench pressing without proper rest; as if it was a race to finish instead of a marathon to build up strength or stamina. Rey smirked as an idea came to her. Pulling out her phone from her back pocket, she fired off a text to Jannah and Rose, telling them to come up and help her conduct a social experiment. Hearing it was about the Knights, they came immediately. The three women silently took seats on the bench on the far side of the room, near the windows, all crossed legs and crossed arms, and leaned against the wall, observing. Ben eyed them suspiciously, squinting a wordless question at them, as he walked among the men, giving tips and correcting their form as needed. Most of the time they listened, but occasionally Rey caught inklings of resentment thrown in Ben’s general direction.

After a few moments of the Knights increasing discomfort at the woman’s presence, Jannah tapped Rey on the shoulder and whispered, “Imma gonna let dude bro lifting know that his form is wrong.” Rose stifled a laugh that resulted in a snort. Jannah shot her a teasing glare before getting up and striding over to the Knight adjusting his weight amount. “Yo, you know your back is arched too much to allow for full range of motion, right? And if you spread those legs a tad more, you could activate the hip flexors which would allow a deeper squat.” He turned and glared at her.

“I think I know what I’m doing, this is how all of us do it over at the Box, so you keep your rules here, and we’ll do what we want.”

“Sure thing man, just wanting to be helpful. Could help prevent a injury down the road though. I hear injuries in that area . . . .” Jannah circled her finger in the air in the general direction of his crotch, “can be especially . . . _difficult_ to recover from.” Her steely glare combined with her statement, made him visually uncomfortable.

“She’s right you know!” Rey yelled from across the room. He glanced over at her, dropping his weights and turned to face her.

“Oh yeah little miss yoga instructor? What do you know about lifting and spreading unless it has to do with your legs and you’re on your back?”

Rey felt fury rise up in her, and marched her small, but powerful body over to him, only pausing on the way to grab a lightly weighted workout bar that was two feet longer than she was tall. She carried it in one hand, swinging it over her head, in front of her and down to her side. As she approached him, she swung it again, egging him on and stopping it only mere inches from his head. She stood in a fighter’s stance, one leg in front of the other, her weight evenly balanced with a slight bend in her knees, ready to pounce. He stared at her in disbelief, unsure what to do. Rey glared at his clean shaven face and bleached white teeth, as he grinned at her out of contempt.

“HEY!” Ben’s booming voice filled the void of the silent room, as Jannah slowly backed away, gawking at Rey’s stance and a face that was fuming with rage. “She’s not wrong, and I won’t tolerate that kind of treatment of women in _MY_ gym.” Ben marched over to the two of them, slightly pushing Rey’s bar to the side, away from the knight’s face, who turned to Ben,

“But it’s NOT your gym is it Kylo? It wouldn’t be your gym if Snoke hadn’t decided to dodge his responsibilities. You’re not as badass as you think, for fuck’s sake, grow up!” He rolled his eyes in contempt. “Hux would have been a better manager by far.” The other Knights dropped what they were doing and walked over, surrounding Ben and Rey and looking less than friendly.

“If you can’t take correction from a properly educated and certified trainer in my gym, then maybe I’ll dismantle the team, take away your sponsorship, your freedom to come and train here as you please . . . I’d carefully consider your next moves.”

The Knight moved back to his weights silently. He refused to acknowledge Rey’s existence, or offer an apology. Rey glanced at Ben quickly before dropping and returning her weapon back on its stand, and leaving the room hastily. _“I don’t need you to come rescue me Ben. For god’s sake. . . “_ She mentally yelled at him, frustrated. She continued to be aware of how the workout was going, Rose and Jannah were giving tips, now assisting Ben, which was hilarious to watch because of the Knights visible contempt. By the time the Knights finished, they were laughing and carrying on with the one they called Kylo Ren. The whole event bothered Rey, but it was not her place to say anything in the moment. Ben walked them out the door, closed it behind them and made sure they were totally gone before immediately walking over to Rey, hands in his pockets. She could tell he was hesitant to speak, but knew he had to.

“I want to apologize to you for them Rey, that was uncalled for, and unprofessional. They should be able to take critique, especially when it comes to injury prevention from anyone who speaks up with accurate information. I’ve apologized to Jannah, but you deserve one as well. Thank you for standing up for her, and yourself. That’s the kind of character that builds a good team, one that I value in my employees.”

“Eh, its fine, nothing I haven’t handled before.” Rey shrugged in an attempt to brush it off.

“No, it’s not fine Rey.” His gaze met hers again, except her eyes told him she was scared. Something in her was calling her to escape. His eyes were drawn to her lips, inviting him to investigate them with his own. “I will be speaking to them moving forward about how they treat _everyone_ in this place. They don’t run the show here like they do at their box . . . . I hope you’re better now.” His ending felt abrupt to him, and he mentally kicked himself for his lack of tact.

“Yeah I am. Thanks . . . . _Keto_ Ren.” Rey smiled at him, attempting to lighten the conversation. Ben grinned at her and looked away almost laughing. Glancing back out of the corner of his eye, he mockingly held up a finger at her.

“It’s KYLO Ren dear, and don’t let the Knights of Ren hear your version of it. I’ll never hear the end of it.” Ben joked with her.

“Imagine what they would do if they found out your real name was Ben Solo!” She laughed at her own joke, awkwardly.

“Oh, heaven forbid, I’d never live that down either!” Ben lightly palmed her shoulder in a friendly acknowledgement of their conversation, before turning to go back up to his office. Rey grinned and went back to her logging, allowing herself to glance back at him as he walked away.

**********

Later that night, sitting at his kitchen table sulking, staring at the Amazon page for _“The Man in the Black Suit,”_ Ben considered what he had refused to do for months; disband the Knights of Ren team. Something continued to prevent him from doing so, and he was not sure he knew why. When Snoke brought him onto the team at the gym, the Knights took him under their wing, welcoming him and encouraging him as he slowly became a man. They were the ones practically running the gym at Snoke and Hux’s behest. But once Snoke unofficially stepped down, Ben’s leadership qualities led the Knights of Ren to several major competition wins, which brought him several advances, and eventually led to his promotion over Hux for the gym’s manager. Those were good days for Ben, ones in which he finally felt the belonging and connection he longed to experience. Snoke’s retirement drove a wedge in those relationships however, as the Knights viewed Ben forcibly taking over for Snoke. Ben changing the gym’s marketing focus to be more of a family friendly environment did not go over well either, causing their undivided loyalty to lapse, leading them to create their own CrossFit box across town. Despite their best efforts, they still needed Ben’s gym for sponsorships and training space. It was a contemptuous relationship, but he made it work somehow.

However, if they were going to come into _his_ gym and treat _his_ employees that way, well, that was unacceptable, and could not happen again. He knew they made his employees uncomfortable, and already knew of several complaints from clients he also needed to consider, but figured it was bias against weight lifters in general. However, the recent developments as of that morning were forcing him to reconsider his assumptions. The men he admired and who had welcomed him, were not the people he thought they were. He supposed he always knew their intentions were never pure, and were always seeking to cause him trouble, and today confirmed his suspicions. He realized he would need to do something about them, but at the same time was afraid of them for some other excellent reasons. He would need to handle this extremely carefully to avoid bringing any trouble onto anyone’s life.

He clicked, “Complete Order” to buy the book Rey was reading. Prime would have it to him in two days.

He glanced down at his phone sitting on the table next to him, thinking of checking in on Rey. He sipped some of the whiskey from his glass, staring at the last message he sent to her, which had gone unanswered from her side of the phone. He pursed his lips in thought as he considered the impact of the day, and his feelings for her. Before he lost his nerve, he sent her a text:

“I’m attempting to find a solution to the Knight issue. Will keep you updated. Hope you aren’t too shook up tonight.”

************

“What do you want me to say to that exactly Rey?”

Hux and Rey sat at their Starbucks table, as another coffee business date was well underway. Rey walked into him already having her order on the table and immediately held out her phone for him to read Ben’s text from the previous night as she sat down. Hux leaned forward and squinted his eyes as he read it. Sipping from his cup he leaned back and raised his eyebrows at her.

“Oh, don’t give me that look Hux.”

“What look?”

“The look that says you know more than you’re willing to let on.”

“It’s none of my business what the two of you do in your _OFF_ hours Rey.” He glanced up at her over the top of his coffee cup. “Besides, would a man who didn’t care about you, hide in my Kids Club when he’s horny so he wouldn’t have to talk to, or see you?”

“He . . . what?” Rey’s mouth dropped open at his admission. Now she finally knew where Ben went to hide when she couldn’t find him on occcasion.

“I said nothing Rey. Nothing at all.” He took another sip of his way-too-elaborate- Venti drink.

“Oh, so we’re playing that game are we?” Rey put her phone down and leaned back into the chair deeper, crossing her arms.

“What game?”

“Exactly what I thought.” She raised an eyebrow at him and the two coworkers stared at each other for a while, daring the other to give in first. Rey’s racing thoughts and curiosity forced her to crumble.

“Fine. Should I be . . . . interested, what would you suggest I do to . . . . entice someone?” Hux grinned wildly, leaned forward, and practically whispered to her,

“Benjamin Solo cannot take his eyes off of your ass and he loves working out. You wanna force him to act? Combine those two things somehow; he won’t be able to resist you for very long. He can barely resist you now.”

“Are you seriously suggesting that I want to fuck my boss?” Rey whispered back with a twinkle in her eye that Hux did not miss.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m suggesting, and frankly, I think this Rey is someone who could tame the beast behind those dark brown eyes.”

Rey swallowed.

Hard.

Twice.

“Then I suspect I have plans to make.” She squeaked out of her pursed lips an admission, in an attempt to keep her thoughts and emotions in check for the time being.

“I suppose you do.” Hux took another sip of his drink and leaned back. “So, how’s the food coming for the party? Any more clues on what “Mexican fusion” is?


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “OI! SOLO! TAKE THAT!” She pointed at him, then clapped her hands, making a cloud of chalk rise up around her. For the first time, the fire in her eyes, the determination in her voice, the intensity of her voice as she let out another yell of glee, the power in her clinched fists and body language, scared him. 
> 
> It was fucking hot as hell. 
> 
> It was uncontrollable. She felt in complete power and refused to hide it. Ben could not let her win the day as his competitive side rose up. “But god, is she fucking amazing ….” She was besting him at his own game, and he was NOT about to let the story end here. He strode over to her, practically getting in her face, his own fire filling his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on a roll with the chapters i've previously written! Its nice to get some editing done and chapters posted, hope you guys are enjoying them as much as I am in writing them. I LOVED writing this chapter so much! So much flirting and unspoken desires here! If you are looking for a playlist for the music in this chapter, I have created one for you to enjoy should you want to. :) 
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/user/12133108629/playlist/5WGw9hBOrAey2iHg7m37ca

The following day’s shift started relatively normally, but by 8 pm the gym nearly cleared out, and the two staff members on duty already completed their nightly check out procedure and separated for the evening; they both needed time and space to think. Yet somehow, they found themselves drawn to each other in the exact same place, doing the exact same thing. It was as if an invisible force was drawing them toward each other despite their best efforts to stop it.

Ben decided to use his time effectively and take advantage of a practically empty gym to get a personal extended workout in. However, the thing he did not plan on, was Rey walking into the workout floor, head held high, in nothing but a black tank top with a smiling cartoon candy corn on it, and black booty shorts.

In October.

Yes, they kept the gym warm, but not THAT warm, confusing him as to her reasoning in changing her clothes. He attempted to divert his gaze toward her feet as a distraction. She changed from the sneakers she was wearing earlier in the day, to low top Converse, _“Shit…..that means leg day.”_ Oddly enough, he felt an urge suddenly overtake him to change his workout to leg day as well. Breaking his own desire to continue to watch her, he walked over to the squat rack, directly across the room from her chosen area to do dead lifts, and started to pull weights off their stands for easy access when he would need them. The floor under her feet was built to be a tad softer and could handle dropped weights easily, where in the rack he would not be dropping them, so no need for special accommodations. As she went to grab bumper plates and rack them up on the bar, he set his weights, often glancing her direction. He noticed she pulled her hair back into a top bun instead of her normal ponytail, revealing the back of her small neck, the same neck his breath had been centimeters away from only the day prior. Now he was nervous to get even within a yard of her. She reached for the light warm up weights, but also selected two 45s and two 20’s. Ben was impressed, and decided to take a momentary risk.

“You have a music preference for your workouts?” He spoke over to her, it was late, and they could be in control of the room now. She glanced over in his direction, before retorting,

“If I don’t care for it, I’ll change it. Don’t worry.” Rey didn’t mind his music normally, but his need to be so in control of everything and every situation annoyed her, and his way of assuming control OF her and other employees at times caused a rise in anger. His control over the Knights, and outburst when he lost it, occupied her thoughts most of the last 36 hours, and she was working herself into a general state of annoyance. She was raised by a man, she knew how to read them well, and this man had some growing to do.

Ben shrugged, and rolled his head in a semi-circular pattern, easing out the tension in his shoulders before stepping into the rack. When he did, he braced the bar on his newly relaxed shoulders for a series of squats. He made eye contact with her as he yelled out, “BB8 play _This Means War_.” As soon as the music achieved a decent rhythm, Ben began his squats. Rey continued to prep for her workout by wrapping her hands in protective tape and chalking them, refusing to miss a beat even though she avoided eye contact with him. “Sending subtle messages are you Solo?” She walked over to the bar, placed her feet comfortably outside shoulder width, and stared down the bar, mentally making it submit to her will. Ben continued to slowly squat, watching her prep.

Just before she was to pick up the bar, a mischievous grin crossed her face and she looked over to the man standing large in the squat rack currently resting. Yelling over the music she challenged, “Keep up if you can Solo. Set for set, you gotta match me.”

Ben took a beat in thought, and then slowly walked over to her, staring her down as he arrived. “That’s fair. But how do you know how to lift, who taught you?” He was slightly offended at her laugh in response. “I could help you if you needed tips.”

“Thanks for the offer boss, but I think I can handle it. You thought I got this body from yoga?” She raised an eyebrow at him and stood back up. “Set for set, rep for rep. Weights can very because there is no way I can match you there, but when I increase, you increase and vice versa; normal workouts only, no unfair modification to manipulate the other into giving up. Must match the pace of the person who called out the change. The person who lasts longer wins.”

“And what are the stakes?” Ben crossed his arms over his tee-shirt forcing himself to not look at her bare legs.

“You take my bathroom cleaning duty for a month if I win. If you win, I don’t tell the Knights you lost to a 5 foot something girl.” Ben narrowed his eyes at her, considering, but stuck out his hand after a moment’s pause.

“Deal. Rack ‘em up Rey.” Ben turned away from her and walked back to his station. Once he set up his next round he called to her, “Warmup. 3 sets of 12 reps, fairly easy weight.” Rey squatted down, grabbed onto her weighted bar at the hashed hand grips, wiggling her fingers to get a good hold, and looked up in the direction of the man across the room, waiting for him to start. He started his squats without making eye contact with her, he looked lost in the world of his mind staring at the wall behind her, but she was able to match him rep for rep. The low weights were easy for them, not presenting a large strain on their bodies. Ben could go at this pace for a good long while, and he figured Rey could too. He tried to remember how long her normal workouts were from start to finish and guessed about an hour, including cool down and yoga, but he was not totally confident in his assessment.

The truth of the matter was, Rey knew she could go for 2 hour workouts if she paced herself well, and worked slow enough to allow for proper rest. She preferred long-term workout goals focusing on building endurance when it came to weight lifting anyway. As she assessed the man across from her, she guessed he was a tad more concerned with size. _“Ok, maybe more than a tad.”_ They both finished their set, and Rey called out,

“Increase by 10 pounds, same rep and set count. . . BB8 play _Boom Boom Pow_.” Ben smirked, before yelling over at her,

“OH! So it’s gonna be _that_ kind of workout, is it?” Rey stuck her tongue out at him in contempt of his mock complaint. He thrust the needed weights onto the bar to increase his weight by 10, knowing he would barely feel the increase. He settled under the bar, waiting for her to finish loading hers. Taking a pause before starting, she held up a finger in his direction as she took a sip of water, so he waited, glancing away from her for a moment. She started without him, keeping a slower pace this time, which increased the time the muscles needed to exert energy, thus fatiguing them faster. _“She knows what she’s doing.”_ He thought. She was doing exactly what she needed to, in order to tire him out quicker. As soon as they finished that group of sets, Ben yelled out before she had the chance,

“Same weight, add a set. . . . BB8 play _Angels Fall_.”

Rey easily matched his pace and placed her weight with a loud sigh as they finished. She stared him down while pacing in front of her bar to rest for a few moments before grabbing more weight and pinning it to her bar. “Increase by 10, 3 sets of 8 . . . BB8 play _Alive Tonight_.” Rey watched as Ben took the opportunity to dry his hands off on his sweat towel, and taking his squirt bottle in hand, shot water into his mouth . . . but after swallowing, showered water over his head, wetting his hair, allowing the water to run down the front of his shirt. Rey watched his now soaking hair stick to his head, allowing the tips of widely set ears to peek out of the strands of raven colored locks. Rey thought it was endearing . . . and wondered how much fun it would be to use her tongue to play with those ears. Rey’s thoughts raced, forcing her to take a deep breath to prevent herself from running over and ripping off his shirt right then and there. “How you doing over there?” She was curious if he was starting to feel the work, or was simply showing off for her. She suspected the latter. Either way, SHE was feeling the burn, and needed an idea of how he was actually doing so she could strategize her next moves carefully.

“Not breaking a sweat yet. Why, can’t keep up?” Ben knew he was totally breaking a sweat, but he was NOT going to give up that critical piece of information to her. 

“Oh, never!” She yelled back allowing the music to pump her up, encouraging her to take a deep breath and begin lifting. A plan formulated in her mind on how to up the ante considering she was free lifting and Ben was in a rack, something she felt might be an unfair advantage for him. Ben kept pace with her, but could feel his legs starting to burn. He felt his body loosening, nearing its typical mid-workout feeling, ready for some actual work. When both of them finished, he set his bar, and took a walk break, his hands resting on his hips. He glanced over at Rey, who was doing the same. Both of them were breathing deeper and needing more time now between levels to recover. Which was normal and neither of them made an issue of it.

Ben decided to test her to see what she would do with something unpredictable. “Same weight, sets, and reps . . . twice the speed.” Rey glared at him from behind her water-bottle, she finished and wiped her mouth on her arm.

“You make the rules. Song?” Rey noticed the after burn of his workout affecting his muscles, as they were practically popping out of his skin now, glowing with a light sheen of sweat and residual water from his impromptu shower through the soaked shirt. Ben caught her staring at him, and for the first time, she celebrated the fact that he knew she was enjoying watching him. 

Ben stared at her from under the top of his eyes. He knew this was bordering on flirting for the both of them as he saw the way her eyes flicked around his body, and his body was responding in kind to that realization. If they were gonna go this way, there was no turning back. “BB8 play _All This Could Be Yours_.” Ben waited until she was set, before starting at twice the speed of the previous set.

Rey could feel her body amping up, sweating, her muscles starting to burn, and frankly she was getting hornier by the passing minute. Luckily, this was a fairly normal reaction to workouts for her, and did not require a stimulus in order to get there, so she was not thrown by it. The difference this time was she never watched Ben do the same workout as her across the room, providing the exact stimulus to bring her horniness to increasing levels beyond what she was fully comfortable with in the moment. She knew herself, and if unchecked, she’d have him naked on the floor within the hour. Across the room, Ben was concentrating so hard, the sound of Rey dropping her weights for the first time that day, and letting out a yell of exhilaration, shocked him. She was getting tired.

“Why don’t you come out of the safety of that rack and free weight dead lift with the real athlete, instead of cheating and not picking up the bar, hum?” She stared at him with hands on hips, one leg jutting forward. “Three sets, 15 pounds more, set of 8. BB8 play _Starships_.”

“Oh, the “real” athlete huh? Hold on there, careful who you’re talking too. I could fire you, you know.” Ben smirked, but put his bar on the floor in front of him. “Ready when you are.”

Rey set up what she needed. She was getting close to her fatigue point and needed a break soon, but was trapped by her own suggested increase. Ben struggled on the last few lifts, but he was able to brush it off, hoping Rey would not notice. He was at a loss for what to next, but knew he needed a break.

“Pull ups for a minute.” He blurt out as soon as he thought of it. That would give his legs a break, while testing her arm strength. He thought a minute was more than enough time for her to tap out. They walked over to the pull up bars next to each other, and he yelled back to the roaming robot, “BB8, play _SexyBack_.”

Rey snorted at his song. “Bit arrogant there aren’t we?” as she glanced up with hesitation and concern at the bar perched on the wall way too high for her to reach fairly. She’d have to jump to get there, and then her elbows would be locked as she hung, making it near impossible to get started.

“Wanna boost?” Ben asked her sarcastically, secretly hoping for the opportunity to span his hands around her waist, picking her up with zero effort to the top of the bar.

Rey glared at him, this time she actually looked angry, rather than teasing. “No thanks, I’ll get my own boost thank you very much.” She walked over to the attached studio, grabbing a jump box step that would work for her height. Ben could reach the bar no problem. “Short people have to improvise you know, means we use our brains more than our brawn.” Rey set her smart watch for a minute and then jumped up.

“Ouch.” Ben waited for her to get ready, and they set off. The minute passed relatively fast for Ben, but he could tell it was a struggle for Rey to get there, as her arm strength was no where near his. At one point, Ben and Rey’s pulling rhythms synced, and they spent three reps staring down the other as they moved their bodies up and down against the bar, matching the other’s speed exactly before Ben took off faster than her. Rey rolled her eyes in response. When the timer on her watch went off, she dropped immediately to the box and then the floor. Ben stayed on the bar for an additional minute. Rey stood on the ground, crossed arms, fighting every cell’s urge in her body to watch him complete his pull-ups. She felt a single drip of moisture drop from her pussy to her panties. She coughed to try and dispel the tightening in her core.

“Asshole. Enjoy showing off do you? Good job there. Really takes your masculinity to the next level you know.” He dropped to the ground at her comment, wiping wet hair out of his face as he turned to look at her. “I know what you’re doing Solo and two can play at that game. . . . Indoor laps up stairs, for 10 minutes . . . BB8 play _Runaway (U and I)_ . . . and go!” Rey took off, running out of the workout floor not giving him a chance to respond. Ben was quickly behind her, catching up as they rounded the corner of the gym, hitting the steps to the second floor. He was able to take the steps two at a time, easily passing Rey, and dashed into the upstairs running track. He knew his long legs would carry him in front of her easily, but if he slowed she would know and call him out on it, _“She’s just gonna need to settle for getting lapped.”_

And she did. Multiple times. When her song was done, Ben changed it to _Learn to Fly_. Every time Ben lapped her, he actively fought the urge to smack her ass in those tiny booty shorts that kept riding up, looking more like boy short underwear than workout attire. But he resisted, much to his own chagrin. By the time the ten minutes were up, both were panting, desperately needing water. “Feel like giving up yet?” Ben asked her though labored breaths, his hands resting on his knees as he leaned forward, regretting his question with one glance at her.

“You wish Solo.” She moved to stand mere inches from him, causing him to straighten up at her presence. “Increase weights by 30 pounds. 1 set of 6.” Her expression was a beautiful mixture of determination and stubbornness, and he wondered why it did not revolt him. They headed back downstairs, taking their good old time setting up their weights. Ben did quick math, knowing Rey was now at 150 pounds and probably near or surpassed her planned max for the day. They were hitting on an hour workout, Ben was now at 375 pounds and was glad it was only 6 reps. He had her now, and he was pretty sure this would be the end of it. Their eyes met at the start of their set, and almost simultaneously nodded at each other, indicating the other could start. They both took as much time as needed to get through all 6 reps. Ben finished first, though he struggled on reps 3 onward. He was putting his weights down gently, when he heard a loud thud of weights hit the ground and knew Rey hit her reps. He quickly glanced up; Rey looked practically ecstatic at dropping her weights.

“OI! SOLO! TAKE THAT!” She pointed at him, then clapped her hands, making a cloud of chalk rise up around her. For the first time, the fire in her eyes, the determination in her voice, the intensity of her voice as she let out another yell of glee, the power in her clinched fists and body language, scared him.

It was fucking hot as hell.

It was uncontrollable. She felt in complete power and refused to hide it. Ben could not let her win the day as his competitive side rose up. _“But god, is she fucking amazing ….”_ She was besting him at his own game, and he was NOT about to let the story end here. He strode over to her, practically getting in her face, his own fire filling his eyes.

“Add 20 pounds. 1 set, 3 reps.” The shock on her face told him that was heavier than she was thinking he would go. “No matching pace, take your time with it,” he added, reading concern in her face. She was solidly built, but he knew she regularly did not dead lift more than 150lbs and her reaction confirmed his suspicion, leading to a perfect solution. But there was not a doubt in his mind that she was more than capable of completing the challenge. He commanded the robot, “BB8, play _Love Runs Out_.” They both set their weights, Rey at 180, Ben at 405. Just as they were both ready to start, they locked eyes, and something passed between them. Slowly, they continued to move forward with their reps. The first wasn’t bad for Ben. The second one was harder, and the third felt practically his max.

Rey passed her personal record when she hit 150 pounds. Her previous max was 145 and she was convinced the adrenaline was the only thing keeping her going. Ben looked so determined to beat her, but she was not about to let that happen. She willed herself to get the first two done. The third one would be her max for the day, and her body screamed at her to stop. Once she got past half way on the upward push, she knew she had it in her grasp, and looked up when she heard Ben place his weights down. She reached the top of her lift, and immediately dropped it to the ground, refusing to look away from his gaze, allowing every ounce of her excitement to flow out of her body as she grinned in his direction and clinched and unclenched her fists, taking as many deep breaths as she needed. Ben was astounded at the way her tiny presence filled the room, the fire in her eyes made it impossible for him to stop staring at her, with gaping mouth open. He could tell from her reaction she broke her personal record. As the chorus from _My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark_ blared over the speaker, fueling her passion, she strode over to him, using every ounce of excitement to provide her the courage to walk up to him in such a way, getting as close to his face as she could with their height difference,

“Holding a Tree pose, for 5 minutes.” Her eyes narrowed at him, daring him to challenge her on her specialty. Ben stared back at her, wondering how the hell they were gonna keep a tree pose with both their legs shaking from fatigue. But, it was the next step in the challenge, and she was throwing a curve ball, which he had to hit out of the park. He stayed silent as they grabbed yoga mats from the attached studio, laying them on the floor facing each other. “Leg as high as possible, avoid bracing on your knee for safety concerns. Consider this your first yoga lesson Solo . . . BB8 play, _Come and Get It_.” Rey called out as she wedged her feet out of their shoes to make them appropriate for yoga. He glanced down at her black ankle socks, covered with candy corn designs. _“Of course….”_ He laughed to himself. This girl would be the death of him, he was sure of that.

Rey was into her tree pose with closed, concentrating eyes before Ben could even process the song that was playing. She was intentionally messing with his head now, she was determined to win, and from her perspective, she had this in the bag. _“You started it Ben. She’s only giving it back to you,”_ he internally reasoned in an attempt to keep his thoughts under control. He looked at her pose, quickly studying it for tips, and enjoying the opportunity to look at her without her direct knowledge. He saw her steadying herself, standing on one leg, the other leg bent up with her heel tucked into the crook of her pussy. Ben forced himself to look at her face. Her hands were folded in a prayer under her chin, her eyes closed, her body as still as a statue. Ben knew he was beat before he even started. His center of mass was much higher than hers, his legs were shaking uncontrollably from the workout, he was not at flexible as her, and he KNEW he couldn’t do it with his eyes closed. Rey opened an eye as he was trying to get into pose. He could do Tree pose well with his leg below the knee, so he elected to do it that way given her challenge parameters. His eyes were totally staying open. He started to focus on her for his own balance, studying her, as he was able to somehow maintain his composure and pose as long as his eyes remained fixated on her. Her breathing became shallow, more controlled, her hair frizzing from the sweat, her shoulders relaxed. She looked practically surreal. Her jaw relaxed to the point her lips parted the slightest bit. She looked in control, soft but also strong. He was utterly fascinated by her and knew he needed to get to know her more.

Rey heard a thud and immediately knew that Ben Solo fell out of pose. She opened her eyes, and sure enough, he was lying with his back on the floor, one knee bent up , his arms sprawled over his head on the floor. Ben lost concentration on his pose by concentrating on her. He felt himself go, and gave up.

“You win Rey.” She smiled as she broke her pose. Grabbing her water bottle, she moved to stand over him, literally. One leg she reached over his sprawled body, standing and straddling his waist. Taking a sip of water in triumph, she refused to break eye contact as he stared up at her speechless. She remained silent, taking a quick glance at his crotch given the opportunity presented to her, until he started to shift his body to stand, causing her to remove her legs from straddling him. As he stood, she offered him her water bottle. He gladly took a swig from it, thinking about how he could taste her sweat on the mouthpiece and how the last thing to touch it prior to his, were her lips. They stood for what felt like an eternity getting their breaths under control and refusing to break eye contact from the other. She was the one to break, silently picking up her mat, wiping it down to put away. Rey knew she needed to leave his dominating presence if she was to stop herself from taking his shirt off, and elected to head for the showers while he composed himself and his breathing became more controlled as he watched her leave.

“Thank-you by the way.” She looked back at him on her way out. “Hit my new personal record today at 180.”

“What was it before?” Ben yelled after her as she walked out of the room.

“145.” She smiled to herself as she left his gaze. Ben shook his head slowly as he wiped his hands on the towel and picked up his mat.

_“Yep, totally need to spend more time with her now that we’re on the same shift.”_

He also had a heck of a lot of bathroom cleaning in his future.

***************

“Do you think they realize they just spent an hour and a half flirting with each other while working out?” Rose asked Poe and Finn, who were standing with her, all three cocking their heads to the right, eyes squinting in thought, watching the show in front of them finish. Poe crossed his arms, still staring at Ben returning his weights back to their proper home.

“Not a chance. We know Solo is as dense and clueless as they come.”

Finn interrupted, “And we all know Rey acts without thinking of possible consequences. So she’s clueless.”

Rose grinned as she went back to her finance spreadsheet, “Wanna bet on how long it takes for them to get together?”

“What kind of bet?” Poe asked, intrigued. Finn widely grinned, crossing his arms to match his best friend’s and glanced at his girlfriend.

“Lobster dinner, wine tasting, dessert, movie night out. Winner gets treated by losers.” Rose knew the two most important men in her life wouldn’t be able to resist the challenge. The two men glanced at each other and both stuck out their hands for Rose to shake. She crossed her arms and shook each one of their hands at the same time.

“Deal,” she unclasped their hands, and pulled out a calendar from under the desk, asking, “Should we discuss dates? The person who gets the closest to them showing up here at work clearly dating, wins.”

“June 1st” Poe said, Rose writing it down on a piece of paper to keep fair track.

“May 1st.” Finn glared at Poe in a playful way, almost daring him to challenge his date.

“Ya’ll be crazy, they won’t hold out that long. I’m a woman and I know Rey, she’s on the edge right now. March 1st for me.” She scribbled down her own bet and before finishing, the three heard behind them,

“I’m in too.” Hux said as he had snuck up behind them without sound.

“MAN! How do you always do that?!” Finn was easy to scare and every single employee knew it and used it frequently for stress relief. Hux most often of any of them. “It’s almost unnatural.”

“Years of service in the military teach you all kinds of things you would rather not know.” Hux’s expressionless face countered Finn’s terrified one. “Care to find out?”

“Uh, no! I’m good! I’d like to live, thank you very much.” 

“Put me down for by Christmas.” Hux looked the most confident in his date selection of any member of the gathered group. It was downright unnerving at his level of confidence.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "She opened one eye just as Ben threw her door open, running into the room, and sliding on the floor in his booted feet, barely able to keep his footing under him, in a panicked voice he practically yelled,   
>  “Millicent got out and we can’t catch her! She’s too crafty that bastard, we need your help again after the bat rescue!”

Despite the happenings at the gym, Rey continued to consider if her agreement to take boxing lessons in exchange for yoga was a smart decision on her part. It was HIGHLY likely it was a result of her raging hormones instead of logic. Though, when it came to Ben, logic these days was frequently absent. On one hand, she continued to desire to learn, but she suspected her body’s driving force was leading her for a different reason. She really only wanted to see Ben shirtless, and this seemed a logical way to allow that to happen. _“Or naked, naked works too,”_ she mused to herself one day, then immediately tried to expel the thought from her memory bank. She still struggled with wonder at how the lessons would go, but concluded that boxing for yoga was a fair trade. She enjoyed seeing Ben Solo at her mercy on a yoga mat. For a variety of reasons.

“You look contemplative this morning Rey.” Hux walked into the front atrium on his way out and caught Rey off guard, freely interrupting her thoughts. His friendliness these days still felt odd to her, but since their agreed upon truce was slowly transforming into friendship, it was becoming easier to accept. Still, she wondered what triggered this sudden change in him. Maybe it was the cold weather adjusting his personality, or the party planning. Maybe he was an undercover fan of Halloween.

“Just considering a few things, is all.” Rey said without looking up from her papers. Hux set down the grey crate he was carrying and got uncomfortably close to her face.

“He likes watching you do yoga you know.” Hux practically whispered to her, a sense of hesitancy in his voice. “But you didn’t hear that from me.” Before Rey could even follow up with a logical thought, Hux turned and picked up the crate. Rey heard a meow come from inside it and realized he brought his fucking cat to work. Was he trying to mess with her head? “If Solo starts looking for me, tell him I took Millicent to the vet and won’t be back until later this afternoon.”

“I suspect there is another reason you brought her in today.” Rey cocked her eyebrow in his direction as he turned to look at her.

“Whatever do you mean Rey?”

“I find it strange that you are on Kids’ Club duties this morning and just HAPPENED to bring her with you. Have some children to show her off to, do you? Solo instituted that, “no pets rule” after Poe’s turtle incident for a reason you know.” No one to this day talked about the turtle incident.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about . . . what Solo doesn’t know, won’t hurt him.” Hux winked as he disappeared behind the wall leading to the Kid’s Club room. Rey shook her head in frustrated amusement.

She considered what he said about Ben watching her, and found it extremely odd for someone like him to be interested in her love life to the extent that he was . . . _“but hey, anything was possible,”_ she supposed, though it was still weird timing thanks to their recent workout. The evenings since that event were spent mostly in silence between the two nightshift workers. A few smiles passed between them, and a few yells when one left for the night before the other. It was peaceful to work side by side with him, and not feel the need to speak. Quietly existing in his presence was enough. She resolved to do a few rounds of meditation as soon as she finished her paperwork to further contemplate her feelings toward Ben as she needed to nail down exactly what they were. Classes were running and others could grab the desk if needed.

She went to her studio after changing into her yoga clothes. Settling down on her purple yoga mat, she tried to move into a meditative state. However, for an odd reason, her mantra’s today were not cutting it. Her mind kept wandering to a variety of topics that distracted her from the calm she was attempting to seek, to engage with her own experiences and thoughts. Drowning out the rest of the world was proving more difficult than she planned on. It annoyed her. Stress from the party was building as the date quickly approached, but some things were coming along nicely, and having Hux help her plan was greatly easing her anxiety surrounding it. Him volunteering to organize and set up the lighting and fog effects greatly eased a lot of her stress where prep was concerned. She had zero knowledge of that kind of technology and staging.

_“Why did Hux mention yoga to me? Did he want to throw me off? Is there a deeper reason why he put me on the evening shift? . . . DANG IT REY STOP IT. Focus. Breathe._ ”

She was not sure how long she sat there, attempting to wrangle her thoughts. She finally opened her eyes when her brain utterly refused to quiet down, practically giving up for the day. If this was a romantic comedy movie, she half expected Ben to be standing there watching her. He was not though, and she was surprised at how torn she felt over this development. _“Or lack of one.”_ She thought.

Suddenly, she heard a lot of yelling and shuffling in the front room erupt out of what seemed like dead air space. She tried to ignore it by closing her eyes again, but soon she recognized the thud of someone familiar running down the hall. She opened one eye just as Ben threw her door open, running into the room, and sliding on the floor in his booted feet, barely able to keep his footing under him, in a panicked voice he practically yelled, 

“Millicent got out and we can’t catch her! She’s too crafty that bastard, we need your help again after the bat rescue!” He ran out the room, not waiting for her to follow. She knew this could be a potential disaster, and quickly stood and followed him out as fast as her much shorter legs carried her. As she rounded the corner, she noticed Ben closing doors as they ran past them, preventing the cat from escaping into them and complicating the search. Because of this, she was able to quickly catch up. As she ran behind him, attempting to keep up with his long strides, Ben’s hair took on a whole new role for her in the way it bounced with his motions.

_“What conditioner does he use, and why can’t my hair look that natural?”_ she wondered. It was sinful how much she envied his loose waves; when her own hair was straight as straw. She contemplated what this information meant for her, but was starved for time to consider it deeper at the moment. As the pair rushed toward the front, they were met with a workout floor in utter chaos. The cat was clearly terrified as it ran around the parameter of the room, hiding under furniture and machines as it could, attempting to avoid any snatch launched at her, which only terrified her more. Her ears lay flat back on her head, and she hissed at anyone who got close. Employees rushed around, trying to close doors in case she escaped the workout floor. Clients, however, were obstructing their efforts by trying to help, or wanting to finish their workout in the midst of destruction. Because of liability though, clients were told to stand back and not engage the cat or the employees, which caused confusion. Poe was desperately trying to explain this to a group of clients who could not understand liability insurance and he was growing continually, visibly frustrated. It would have been funny, if the situation was not so panicked. 

“Oh, I have a bad feeling about this…..” Ben’s voice echoed in her ears as they stood at the top of the steps. She glanced over and up at him, as his eyes surveyed the situation in his gym. Ben wondered how on earth he could possibly find a cat in all this mess. He could clearly see that Millicent was terrified and all the noise and movement was disturbing her even more. He remembered back to before he started working at the gym, and how scared he could become when feeling overwhelmed. Back then, he would lash out at any object or person near him for his own protection and mental stability. His uncle tried to help him at his mother’s request, but it refused to sink in until Snoke and the Knights helped him fix that flaw quickly. This cat was in a similar situation, and did not need more chaos. It needed calm. Ben glanced over at Rey. She calmed him, he knew . . . .

“Everyone, STOP where you are.” Ben’s voice boomed across the room, as his fists clinched in frustration, his tone commanding attention from the gathered mob. Everyone stopped moving and listened intently. “We need to get her softly; she won’t come with everyone moving around. If you can get out quietly and quickly, I suggest you do, it’ll make our job a lot easier.” At the word “our” he motioned to Rey and him, to make it clear who was staying behind. Sure, Rey thought on her feet with the bat, but a cat was a lot easier to catch, confusing her as to his desired need of her presence. The dozen or so people in the room started to quietly leave. Rey held the door open for them, ready to slam it shut if Millicent made a beeline for the door. Ben stayed behind, watching the feline intently as she stared back at him with unblinking blue eyes.

“You good there girl? . . Oh, I see you look afraid, that’s not cool. Those people probably freaked you out didn’t they? Would you like to come here? I could help you?” Ben slowly and methodically lowered his voice and cast his eyes down, hoping to help her calm down in kind. He kneeled down, sitting on his ankles, and slowly put his hand out, palm up to see how she would react. She meandered over from sitting in the corner, looking curious as to what he was doing. He shifted to a seated position on the floor, hand still open. “Is this something you want? Today’s been a scary day so far, hasn’t it? I promise, you don’t have to go back there . . . you’re safe here, with me. You’re always safe love.”

Rey watched from the door in mesmerized astonishment as this monster of a man, who could not control his anger as much as he thought he could, who she struggled to read from day to day, was talking to this cat as if he deeply understood where she was coming from. His voice, his mannerisms, everything about him in this moment was telling her the softness that was hidden behind the mask he wore. He was not the sadistic, cold, mechanical Ben Solo she previously thought him to be. He was Ben Solo, a man who understood pain, that was covering up things he did not want to show the world, who was broken and lonely . . . . Rey was utterly enamored with him. Suddenly, all the pieces started to fall into place for her; meditation not required. He was not perfect, but the moments he showed his personality were true, and not him playing a game. The moments where he was cold, meant something was bothering him that he was uncomfortable touching. Before she quite knew what happened, Ben was standing up, and carrying a purring cat in his arms over to her. Millicent rubbed her head against his arm as she flexed her paw, cuddling in deeper to the crook of his elbow. Ben scratched her behind the ears, as he put her in the pet carrier. Not a word was said between the two of them. He smiled at her as she grabbed the door for him. It was the first time she remembered him smiling just for her.

Ben walked over to Hux in the Kid’s Club, who was clearly not aware his cat escaped, distracted by the kindergartners in his charge for the time being. “I have something for you . . .” He handed the carrier to Hux, who’s shocked face surprised no one. “Try not to let her get out again. I don’t need to spend my days chasing people’s pets around the gym. Not after Poe’s turtle incident. Next time, you’ll be the one taking the responsibility for her.” Hux took the crate, and Ben headed off to his office upstairs. Rey took advantage of the opportunity and followed him up the stairs, not caring if anyone was watching. He did not shut his door behind him as he often did, so she lightly knocked on the jamb and leaned against it, waiting for him to let her come in. He glanced up at her while he shuffled papers on his desk and sat down. Opening his laptop he said,

“You have something to say?” She could tell in his body language he was not fully down off the adrenaline of the past 20 minutes, but she decided her statements might help him improve his almost constant flat mood.

“Tuesday.” Rey tried to hide the hesitancy, but also excitement, in her voice, but failed miserably. Ben looked up at her, a bit shocked at her statement. It took him a second to realize what she was talking about before the realization hit him. 

“Oh, you think boxing is something you might be willing to try out already?” Ben’s mind flashed to the image of her standing up for Jannah against the Knight, and his stomach lurched in reaction to the thought of taking that raw talent and refining it.

“I need more cardio in my routine. Have for years. This seems like a good way to work toward that goal.” Rey slightly smiled at him, “And it could result in me becoming an instructor. For the good of the business you know. Could be helpful.”

“Indeed it could.” Ben considered the benefits of working with her more now. Both for his own personal interests, and the financial interests of his business. He would need Rose to look into pricing for Rey’s eventual certification. His thoughts flicked back to training with her, when the gym was mostly empty . . . late at night. . . . he shifted his legs under the desk as his thoughts ran away with him.  
“I was thinking of a larger proposal actually.” Rey cocked an eyebrow; this did not help the feeling in his stomach ease up.

“Oh, what do you suggest?” Ben folded his hands on the desk and raised them to cover his mouth, resting his elbows on the edge. He bit his thumb in concentration.   
“We use yoga as a warm up, then we box. When the gym is empty, late at night. Might work out in our favor. Your yoga teaching is clunky at times, and I want to refine that as quickly as possible.” He could tell that Rey was NOT teasing in this aspect. It also turned him on.

“That could work. Finish our nightly checks early, when the gym empties, head for the workout, then leave after.” He slightly grinned at Rey, and she launched into a preview of his lessons from her that he did not ask for, as she walked over to his desk and sat on the edge of it, her own arms crossed in front of her, making her normally perky breasts, even perkier, if that was possible.

“You teach the mechanics of yoga well, and you help those kids identify balance, and emotions effectively. But you’re not connecting with it yourself. It’s not becoming a part of you, and while it works for them, you don’t engage with adults in yoga classes in the same way you handle the children. That is something you need to work on.” She paused, swallowed and softened her voice just a bit. There was more meaning behind her words, but she was not comfortable being that open with him presently. “I’ll help you.” Ben had no choice at this point. He was not sure what her game was, but she called him out on his resistance to fully engage with the philosophy of yoga and meditation. Luke tried to teach him better engagement with his emotions, but that fell flat, Snoke’s teaching of control and thought stopping worked much more effectively. Ben reached out his hand toward Rey,

“We start on Tuesday.” He glanced at her face half expecting to see a smile, but she was stoically determined and driven. Rey grasped his hand, noticing how his engulfed hers in comparison, it was practically swimming in it, and countered,

“Twice weekly lessons. I need time for lifting, but I can sacrifice some of my yoga and swimming for it. But I’ll be sore, so proper recovery time will have to dictate no more than that.”

_“I could make you sore.”_ Ben was horrified at the thought that crossed his mind. BOTH Luke and Snoke would have eaten him alive if they knew his mind was that out of control in her presence. He knew she was accurate in her read of his teaching skills and motivations. He blatantly rejected many of Luke’s suggestions when he was a child. Hanging out at his uncle’s overly religious summer camp taught Ben that emotions were to be avoided at all costs. At least Snoke helped him channel those emotions into better outcomes. At least, what he once thought were better outcomes. Life taught him differently. But Rey was right, he DID avoid them intentionally. Yet somehow, she was able to bring them out of him, and he was uncomfortable with her power over him; it was foreign, and strange.

“Deal.” He was able to squeak out, hopefully without tipping her off to his mental and physical state. She unwrapped his hand and started to retreat from his office, hesitating half way out the door, appearing as if she wanted to say something more. Instead, she elected to reach behind her and close the door on her way out, wordlessly. Ben quickly bounded up from his desk and hurried over to lock the door behind her, so she could not re-enter without his permission. He turned, leaning his back against it. Closing his eyes, he breathed out deeply, like he had been holding it for their entire conversation. He rubbed his massive hands over his face, and through his hair in frustration, puffing air out of his cheeks deep in thought as he leaned his head on the door behind him. He should buck up and ask her out, he knew that. There was nothing stopping him, he knew that too. He also was at least 83% sure she would say yes, but something held him back. Until he could figure it out, he needed to keep himself under control. Women confused him in general, but he knew they needed to feel understood and valued, and he knew Rey deserved better than him. A variety of things from his past were unresolved, and it was unfair to drag her into it. They should be finalized and packed away before he pursued anything with her. Ben slid his body down against the door, until he found himself seated, his legs sprawled out in front of him.

_“How on earth are you going to survive teaching her to box, when a conversation like this has THAT effect on you?”_ He asked himself, with no clear answer. He deeply sighed as the thought of her leaving passed before his mind’s eye again, and settled straight in his cock. It was funny how things worked that way when it came to Rey. When he was at home he found plenty of ways to distract himself from her, but here . . . . well, that was a different story. When any waking moment he could turn a corner and find her standing in her fucking booty shorts in the middle of the hallway. He could feel himself getting harder by the passing moment as he continued to think about her smile, her hair, the freckles that dotted her skin in the summer when the sun darkened them, her ass . . .

“Fuck it all . . .” Ben succumbed to his body’s present need as he unbuckled his belt, practically whipping it out of all the loops on his pants in one pull, and threw it across the room. He watched it fall on the floor in front of his desk with a clank and a bang as the buckle hit the back of his desk. He took another deep breath, and without looking at what his hands were doing, unclasped his pants, and dragged the zipper down on them slowly. He refused to take his eyes off the wall on the other side of the room. The wall with the window that looked out over the parking lot. The parking lot that his bike was parked in, and Rey’s car most likely in the parking spot next to it. How he wanted to fuck her in the back of that car. He knew he was too big to do it practically, but in his head, he would fit fine. He wondered if her back seat could lie down, and he could fuck her with his legs in the trunk. . .

He plunged his hand into his pants, not even bothering to take them off. Thinking of Rey under him in the back of her car sent his body into immediate heated need. He pulled his cock out of his boxers, springing it free. It sat, hot and heavy in his hand, throbbing in his palm. He took his thumb, and spread the pre-cum already leaking out of the tip, around the head, releasing a deep breath he did not know he was holding. He bent one knee and shifted his position to something a little more comfortable as he continued to tease the head of his cock, swirling around its edge, first clockwise, then counterclockwise. The switch of direction sent a wave of heat through his body as he now pictured Rey’s tongue doing the same motions, in the back of her car, her large brown eyes, staring his own down, as she teased the tip of his cock, laying practically on top of him.

He knew there was no turning back, as he felt his core tighten with pleasure and anticipation. He shifted again, in response to his own hand’s movement to grasp his shaft tightly. He began to slowly slide his hand up and down on his cock, searching for the perfect rhythm for the time being. He reached around with his other hand to play with his balls, and felt his back arch in response, away from the door. He bit his bottom lip in an attempt to remain silent, fighting to stop himself from moaning Rey’s name; which he desperately wanted to do as he pictured her continuing to blow him. He tightened his grip, and increased his pumping speed as he felt himself close to coming, thinking of her worshiping his body, with her tiny fingers grabbing his thighs for support as she finished him. Ben felt pressure building, and thought of Rey moaning as she took him completely in her mouth with one final push, and it sent him over the edge as pressure from his core exploded out of him, his cum arching out of the end of his cock and landing on his bent pant leg. He continued to pump for a few seconds through his body’s quivers and only stopped when he felt himself coming down from the high of the moment.

_“Well fuck…..”_ he thought, looking at his wet pant leg, _“like that isn’t obvious.”_ He’d have to wait in his office until that dried at the very least. He tucked his shrinking cock back into his boxers and zipped up his pants. Standing once his body allowed him to walk, he picked up his belt and looped it though the holds in his pants as he sat down. Grabbing a tissue, he wiped off what he could of the quickly drying cum and chucked it into the trash before sitting down at his desk again. He let out another sigh. While he felt better, and less stressed, he knew his emotions would be much harder to control. He buried his face in his hands.

Ben Solo was in trouble, and he would be the first person to admit it.

**************

Really the only thing breaking Ben out of his contemplative thoughts was the exasperated yell from Jannah at the front desk. Ben glanced up from his laptop in thought, writing yet another email to Hux explaining that as long as Poe was bringing in clients, if he gave away Kids Club memberships to get the sale, they would work with it, and decided to check on what was making his employee frustrated that afternoon. As he descended the stairs, he heard murmuring from Jannah to Hux as they discussed something in hushed tones.

“Did I miss all the fun again?” Ben asked as he approached.

“Kaydel called off again, and people are refusing to fill in for her.” Jannah looked as if she was ready to fight anyone who challenged her opinion on the troublesome employee. “Rey refused to do it this time, citing it as being your turn. Rose and Finn are scheduled to be out already, and Poe said he has a paintball tournament to attend and can’t do it. I struggle with whether I believe his excuse or not.”

“It’s probably true. He’s a decent shot.” Hux interrupted her train of thought. Both Ben and Jannah turned to look at him with shock on their faces at his familiarity with Poe’s leisure activates. “He brags about it to women he flirts with as he’s selling memberships. You forget my daytime office is right around the corner.”

“Have you reached out to . . .” Ben attempted to inquire about some new hires.

“Yes, and I’m pretty sure they have all banded together, refusing to do overtime. She does this too frequently, it needs to stop.” Jannah looked to Ben for direction. He sighed.

“I think then we should go ahead and move forward with letting her go. Hux, could you take care of that, please?” Ben asked, hoping for a quick escape.   
“Pretty sure that’s your job to fire her, dude. I just hire them.” Hux took a stance of power in front of Ben, crossing his arms.

“Aren’t you technically HR?” Ben countered.

“Yes, but you are _technically_ the boss, so your job.” Hux with his statement referenced some legal paperwork somewhere, Jannah assumed. Not wanting to get involved in this argument any deeper, she slowly started to escape down the hallway, figuring it would be better to let the managers hash it out without her present. As she was excepting, Rey popped out of her studio, hair piled up on the top of her head into a bun.

“They talking about Kaydel?” she inquired suspiciously.

“Talking as they normally do, which involves yelling at times.” Jannah confirmed for her, as they heard Ben say something along the lines of, “isn’t this what assistant managers do?” to which Hux countered, “BUT YOU GAVE ME THE JOB DESCRIPTION!” Jannah looked back at Rey, “Better stay back here until the storm passes.”

Rey grinned before glancing at the arguing men, arms now flaring in exaggerated gestures of annoyance with the other. “I don’t know Jannah, sometimes the storms of life are kinda fun.”

“Oh, you don’t say?” Jannah took a step closer, “Care to share anything Rey?”

“You wish.” Rey retorted, stuck out her tongue and closed the door before Jannah could dig for more information, laughing at the woman’s spunk, and the two men continuing to argue. Though while she continued to listen, she became convinced their tone changed and they were now fighting for fun.

In an hour, it was decided that Kaydel was going to officially be put on probation and was not allowed to call off. Hux was to inform her of the employment status, and if she violated, Ben would fire her. Secretly they each hoped she would buck up and actually work her scheduled shifts, but they also knew she would most likely not. Hux started working on finding her replacement immediately, and Ben did not stop him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies! I wanted to give you an update on this fic and future updates. I WILL be updating it, but I have a MAJOR fic project that I need to be working on as I have a deadline in June to have an entire fic done and beta'ed by then. Therefore, this and Save My Soul will be talking a back burner for the time being. SMS might get updated in the mean time as my brain needs breaks, but ROM as of right now will be on hold. BUT I will be coming back to it as soon as I can! I am going to go ahead and make a GUESS that I can get back to this in 6 weeks or so, but i'm not sure. I love all of you who have read so far, and I hope you stick around! I have so many more plans for these guys, and I can't wait to let them live their adventure. And we still have that Halloween party to get to! ;)


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "She buckled herself in, and pulled out of the parking lot first. She watched behind her as Ben pulled out and left in the opposite direction of where she was headed. Taking a sigh of relief, Rey smiled."
> 
> Whoo! Talk about a LONG time for an update! The current state of the world has been crazy, and i'm finally getting to a place where I can write again. BUT i hope to be able to get back into the swing of things. In a few weeks I will have a new completed fic to post, which has been taking up much of my writing time these last few months, so i'll be glad for you to see that. In the mean time, enjoy this next chapter!

Rey intently glared her dresser drawer down, containing way too many sports bras and articles of workout clothing. She gave up trying to organize them months ago, deciding that if it was clean and colors did not clash, it was fair game. However, this morning was the first time she struggled to decide what would be appropriate to wear for a workout. Not every workout involved active training in boxing by a man who served as her biggest distraction physically and mentally. Rey stood in nothing but her panties and mismatched socks, fresh from a shower, contemplating if her bra should match her pants or shirt. She decided neither, and threw on black capris, a pink t-shirt and a nude sports bra.

“Hair up today.” Rey mumbled to herself as she attempted to fix the slightly oily hair. “No use in washing it when I’m gonna get all sweaty.” She knew she was sending mixed signals with her skin tight clothing, and no makeup and gross hair. Frankly, she didn’t care what he thought about her. Sure, the butterflies were already flying in her stomach and for some reason she pictured them as blue, but they needed to behave themselves today. She had a long day ahead of her as their lesson was not until later that _night_. She planned to fuel up before working out. If she was going to keep up with his energy she needed assistance from as many carbs and protein as possible. Her stomach growled at the thought of food, and she made a plan to stop and grab an Americano before work. She’d likely need the caffeine for later that evening as well. As she finished putting up her hair, she sighed in resolved determination for the day to give her what it would, and she would figure it out as she went along.

Rey spent the day watching the clock. Not that she intended to necessarily, the day seemed to drag and the butterflies kept reminding her of what the ending of the day held. She fought the urge to cancel the lesson, or to claim she had a date, or needed to get her oil changed, or get her hair cut. But there was another part of her soul practically screaming at her to go.

_“Really, I’d need to use vacation as a way to technically get off anyway, so it’s not like I can easily negate the lesson without employment consequences.”_ She would still be on the clock, so she supposed getting paid to workout and oogle her boss wasn’t so bad.

The job clearly had its perks.

The main perk was already punching a bag and sweaty when Rey walked into the boxing room for their lesion at 8:36 pm sharp. Slurping on her mocha coffee smoothie Rey attempted to be as obnoxious as possible. As tasty as it was helpful, it had bananas to help her not cramp, and chocolate protein powder to give her the energy the workout would require. Her thirst was far from being satisfied, and would likely only get worse as the evening lingered. Ben stopped punching and glared over at her, changing his facial expression once he saw who was interrupting him.

“Ahh, you do.” He laughed to himself, leaving her confused, as he wiped the hair out of his sweaty face with the crook of his elbow.

“What?” Rey asked. Taking another drag of her straw, savoring the cold, stinging liquid she held in her mouth for a moment before swallowing.

“You have no gear, you clearly need a teacher.” Ben towered over her, and started to take off his gloves, revealing his warm, wrapped hands. He flexed his fingers as he placed the gloves down and reached for powered chalk. “Have you warmed up yet?” He asked, looking at her from the top of his eyes.

Rey blankly stared at him, considering her options for responding, continuing to slurp slowly on her drink in contemplation. She swallowed slowly, before asking, “Recommendations? I mean I could do Yoga….”

Ben laughed to himself again. “No, you need some cardio based warm-ups.” He walked across the workout mat to the other side of the room and pulled out a jump rope. Approaching her again, he held it out for her until she put her smoothie down and grabbed it from his grasp. “Do this for 10 minutes and I’ll prep your equipment.”

“What if I want to finish my smoothie first?” Rey asked with a smirk and only slight sarcasm.

“I’ll give you breaks.” Ben glared, deadpan, his voice low and threatening. Rey felt herself get warm. She took her smoothie in hand again, and moved it across the room, out of the way. Perhaps setting it down a little rougher than demanded. 

“Well, if you’re being generous then, how can I ignore your obvious superior knowledge and direction?” Rey huffed as she took the rope and began jumping. Rey watched as Ben glanced at her chest quickly, before turning away and refusing to make eye contact. She suspected the bouncing wasn’t helping him focus on the task at hand. She smiled to herself, satisfied that even though he was being a dick today, she could still do things to make him sweat more than he already did. Rey continued with the bouncing warm-up, but sighed with relief when Ben told her the ten minutes were over. She stopped jumping and dropped her rope. Bending over, she rested her hands on her knees, breathing heavily and attempting to gain her composure.

“And that’s just the warm up. If you’re gonna do this regularly, you need to beef up your conditioning.” Ben walked over to her as she saw his two stocking feet enter her field of vision. “Stand up, let me show you how to wrap your hands, so you can do this for yourself in the future.” 

Rey stood, huffing her annoyance at his demands, her hands resting on her waist. She blew a few threads of hair out of her face. She raised one eyebrow in questioning annoyance at his gaze. _Good,_ she thought, _his ego needs a check today._ He reached out his hand, wordlessly requesting she hand her’s over. She reluctantly did so, as he took a step toward her. His hand dwarfed hers, as he cradled it in his palm. He looked over her fingers, turning her hand to first look over the back, and then her palm. His large fingers traced the lines on the inside of her hand, and then the veins on the back. Veins that slightly budged due to the warm-up and the heat in the room. He searched for pressure points in her fingers and hand, and chuckled to himself when he hit a nerve and Rey’s hand trembled for a quick instant.

“Now, the thing to keep in mind, is the wrap is not designed to protect your knuckles from injury, merely to create a solid block so your hand won’t collapse on itself on impact.” Ben reached behind him and grabbed a roll of athletic tape, still keeping her hand in his. He found the starting point of the tape, and bit into the end of the strip, ripping it off the roll with his teeth and one hand, all the while staring into Rey’s eyes intently. She wondered if he could tell her pupils were likely dilating. She felt the heat between them, dive into her soul, making her feel very warm and out of breath. But she was sure that was the warm-up talking.

“So technically it _does_ protect your knuckles and prevent your hand from breaking.” She looked up at him as he paused at her snark, rolling his eyes briefly. She watched as he started to wrap tape around her wrist, and then wove it in and out of her fingers one at a time.

“Perhaps you’re correct.” He continued to wind the tape around her hand. She found it near impossible to take her eyes off the fact at how massive his hands were in comparison to hers. They felt oddly soft as they carefully protected hers or the upcoming workout, despite how well build and worked they were. Well formed calluses dotted his fingers, but were softened by the apparent care he put into them. She now understood why there was always a bottle of lotion on his desk next to his oddly varied and professional assortment of stationary pens.

“I’m always correct, it just takes people like you a while to realize it.” Rey coldly countered his brash assumption. He looked at her from under his eyelids and returned to focusing on her hands.

“Next you need to stabilize each individual finger as it connects to the hand. This can best be done by creating x’s of wraps around each finger base, and finishing by stabilizing the thumb.” Rey watched as he carefully covered her hand in white strips. She secretly hoped she’d forget how to do it, thus requiring him to keep wrapping her hands before every class. When he finished the first hand, he moved to the second and repeated the process. Seemingly taking even slower than the first time, savoring the experience. Rey struggled to fight off the chills his touch constantly fed. More than a small part of her was low-key glad when he finished, as it allowed her nerves to finally rest. As he stepped away and grabbed a pair of small purple gloves clearly meant for her, she flexed her fingers making sure they could still move effectively and circulation was not hindered. 

“They feel good.” She affirmed for him. Admiring his work. Trying not to admire the artist too much.

“Excellent. Now, fit your hands into these and we’ll get some early shots in to see how your form works.” Ben stood with one glove opened as Rey moved over and shoved her hand inside it. She overestimated the strength it would take, and in one motion shoved her hand in the glove, smashing it right into Ben’s gut. He let out a puff of air in shock, and for a moment Rey was afraid she hit a little lower than the belt. It took him a second to catch his breath, meaning she only knocked the wind out of him. He bent over, slowly taking a few deep breaths, as his diaphragm learned to breathe again returning his composure to him.

“A little softer next time, please.” Ben asked, straightening up and grabbing the second glove. Rey tightened the Velcro strap on the glove already on her hand. Ben presented her the second one, and she shoved her hand in the hole even harder than the last time. Unfortunately, this time Ben was ready, and absorbed the impact. “You did that on purpose!” Ben laughed in mock shock.

“Yes, I did. Can’t handle it big boy?” Rey strapped on the second glove, deadpan expression on her face.

“Oh, I can handle anything your untrained hands throw at me . . . Shall we start to see how quickly you tire out?”

“Bring it on.” Rey held up her gloves in front of her face, attempting to demonstrate her readiness by a half way decent fighting stance. In response, Ben quietly laughed. Not in a way to mock her, she was sure, but dumbfounded as to what to say. At least, that’s the impression it gave her. 

“You need to get comfortable in a fighting stance that feels right for you. I want you to try and not think about how you are standing and simply take a jab at the bag.” He walked over to a sandbag hung from the exposed metal beam above their heads. Standing behind the bag, he held it against his chest, and waited for Rey’s approach. She slowly approached, and taking a pause, threw her right wrist into the bag, easily making contact.

“Good! Now try going from right to left and back. Cross over the hits, play with your feet positioning, find something that is comfortable for you, then we can work on form.”

Rey realized that boxing was more therapeutic than expected. An hour later as she pounded the bag in front of her with the immovable wall of Ben Solo behind it, she felt sweat dripping out of every pore of her body, as her breathing increased in intensity. She grew comfortable in her skin as she continued to refine her form. Ben would make suggestions as she punched, jabbed and found her footing. By the time she felt practically exhausted, she also felt confident in her stance and felt lighter on her feet. She reached a point where her body gave out, and tore off her gloves.

“Done for the day?” Ben asked, seeming to already know her answer. He let go of the bag and walked around front of it.   
“I think so. For now at least. The next session is gonna be a bitch though. I won’t be able to walk tomorrow.” Rey sighed in exhaustion from the day.

“Ice bath first. Give it a try. Should help relax those muscles at the very least. Will also aid in recovery and help flush out toxins. Then the hot tub for relaxing purposes. ” Ben talked as he unwrapped his own hands. Rey took the clue and begin to do her own.

“Thanks for the tip. I’ll likely do that later once shift—“

“Nonsense. Do it now. I’ll check around and take care of any stragglers on the floor, and close up. When you’re done we will shut down and I’ll walk you out to your car. Take your time.” Ben grabbed Rey’s wraps and disposed of them. He winked at her on the way out of the room. “Good work today padawan.”

Rey was left watching him walk upstairs, as he left her to her own devices and feelings. The worst part was that her emotions were doing as many somersaults in her gut as they possibly could and she was unsure if they were from excitement, or dread.

**********

One thing Rey was _sure_ of, is how much she hated ice baths. If it wasn’t all the prep of filling the tub with bags of ice and then filling with cold water, it was the dread of slowly lowering yourself into the bath to freeze your ass off. Rey chose to wear yoga pants and a sports bra for some extra insulation, knowing that in order to obtain needed benefits, at least fifteen minutes to get needed benefits.

To help compensate, or perhaps motivate, she started up the hot tub for immediate need post ice bath. After stripping from the clothing she did not want to wear in the cold water, Rey stood next to the metal tub containing too much ice for her liking.

“Hey Siri. Set an alarm for fifteen minutes.” Rey waited for her phone to beep. Shaking out her arms which now felt like noodles, she bounced on the balls of her feet for a few seconds attempting to build courage for the icy dip. With a deep breath, she slowly placed her legs in the water one-by-one, and lowered herself into its depths until the ice reached her chest. Her body shook in chills as she attempted to distract her brain from the torture her body was in. She held her chest in crossed arms as goose bumps mounted on every inch of skin not submerged. She suspected those would exist too if she dared look. Even her teeth felt cold. Attempting to remind herself this was for her benefit and healing process still did not aid her misery. The minutes passed like ten years, and when her alarm finally went off, she did not even pause to dry herself off before jumping out of the tub and dashing down the hallway to the hot tub. She would have dove in headfirst if depth allowed. 

Sinking into the steaming pool of pleasure her body felt instant relief as the warmth permeated her core and slowly heated the far reaches of her limbs. Shortly, she heard a knock at the door as Ben’s voice leaked into the room,

“You okay in there? I just let the last person out of the gym for the night and locked up. Whenever you’re ready I’ll be at the front and can walk you to your car.”

“I’m good! Thank you, I’ll hurry along.”

“Take your time, no rush. I have paperwork to do anyways. Come whenever you are ready.”

“I’ll cum whenever I want to.” Rey mumbled to herself, thinking of him standing outside the door, calling to her, refusing to come in, but still wanting to check, making sure she was surviving. Rey felt her body heating up in more ways than simply responding to the permeating heat of the water and steam. She scooted forward in the hot tub seat, spreading her legs allowing for easy access to the one part of her body that begged for personal attention.

Rey palpated her cunt with the palm of her hand softy, but realized she was as wet inside, as her outside was. Rey dove again, but this time her finger inside caused her body to make waves in the water surrounding her from involuntary movements in whatever direction it desired. Her other hand braced on the seat, out of her fear of drowning as her body took control of her mind. The only image her brain seemed to focus on, was the imagined look of Ben knocking on the door, listening to her pleasure herself in the hot tub on the other side, knowing he couldn’t make her cum. 

_Come whenever you are ready._

His words echoed in her ears. She pictured his cock getting hard as he stood on the other side of the wall, listening to her increasing excitement. His fist pounding on the door, wishing he was there to take her himself. The image, combined with her carefully practiced movements, induced tremors throughout her body. She grabbed a nipple and twisted it between her fingers, throwing her body over the edge, finally coming to a moment of pure bliss as literal waves spilled out of the hot tub. Soft moans escaped between her lips as she allowed the waves in her nerves to course through her body. As the water calmed down around her, her soul mirrored by relaxing in a quiet content calming peace. She sat for a moment in the bliss before forcing herself out of the hot tub. She turned it off for the night, thankful for the heat as an excuse for her flushed complexion. After drying herself off as best as she could, she gathered her things, and walked upstairs with her shirt in her gym bag instead of on her shoulders. Her sports bra covered enough.

He sat at the front desk as she approached from behind. He twisted a pen held in his left hand between his fingers as he read through paperwork in front of him. Not wanting to scare him needlessly, she attempted to make some rustling noises upon approach. Darting away from eye contact, she barely missed direct contact before he turned his head to see her walking down the hallway. 

“You ready to leave?” Ben stood and started to gather his keys and black backpack that seemed to follow him everywhere.

“If you’re ready for hot yoga tomorrow.” Rey coolly stated as she pressed her elbows on the top of the desk.

“Oh, I was _born_ ready!” He exclaimed, winking at her as he walked toward the front doors, easily passing her with his long strides. He opened the door, motioning for her to walk through and locked it behind the both of them. Tucking the keys into his pocket, he allowed her to lead the both of them to their cars. Not a word sounded between them, but as Rey clicked the unlock button on her key fob, Ben reached around and opened the door for her, nodding his goodnight instead of speaking it as she climbed in. She settled herself down, as she adjusted her rearview mirror to watch him walk to his car. His shoulders did not slump as much as they normally did; he held his head little higher than she remembered.

She buckled herself in, and pulled out of the parking lot first. She watched behind her as Ben pulled out and left in the opposite direction of where she was headed. Taking a sigh of relief, Rey smiled.


	11. Chapter 11

The following week, and several lessons later, Rey walked up to the staff lounge on the second floor. It was lunch time, and with a clipboard in hand she could get some work done in peace. The papers on her board distracted her, so with the room empty, she was surprised to see Jannah and Rose conspiring in the corner. Grabbing her lunch from the fridge, she noticed Hux had not yet collected his daily meal consisting of a Caesar salad with chicken and eggs. Ben’s massive turkey sandwich and apple were not claimed either. Rey popped her leftovers into the microwave, then slid a K-cup of lemon ginger tea into the Keurig. Turning around to face the two women whispering at the table, she crossed her arms and leaned against the counter waiting for the familiar beep to tell her the food was done. “What are you two whispering about over there?”

Rose motioned for Rey to come over and join them. “We were just discussing some plans tonight for our Friday night off, wanna join us?”

“Well, I was probably only gonna be in my apartment eating takeout Thai and watching Game of Thrones . . . so what are we planning?” Rey pulled a chair out, turned it around, and sat with her arms resting under her chin, on top of the back of the chair.

“Jannah has the 50 Shades of Grey series, so we were thinking trio girls movie night with wine, candy, snacks? An adult sleepover! It’ll be great!” Rose said in an excited whisper because someone walked in behind them. Rey glanced toward the door into the ass of Ben leaning into the refrigerator. She likely lingered on him a bit too long as Rose and Jannah shared a “look” between the two of them when she turned back around.

“I never really went to a real sleepover when I was a kid, so I’m all in.” Rey whispered, hoping Ben would not overhear.

Just as Rey’s food dinged, Ben stood up from the refrigerator, food in hand. Glancing over, he noticed his three female employees with their heads all leaning toward each other, their voices low. “You ladies plotting to take over the world? Should I be worried?”

Jannah raised her fist to the sky, “Who rule the world?” she asked. Without looking back Rose and Rey with clinched fists, hit the table once, raised their fists and in unison and said, “Girls!” and went back talking.

“Well, I’ll leave you ladies to it then,” He snapped a bite out of his apple and with a full mouth mumbled, “let me know when you plan on taking over so I can prep my bunker.” Turning to leave, he smiled at the giggles of the three girls following him out of the lounge. 

When they stopped laughing and the door closed behind Ben, Rose looked at Rey. “WHAT?!” Rey exclaimed, getting up to retrieve her reheated enchiladas. 

“Oh, come on, you don’t wanna bang that?” Rose asked, hand on hip. “What warm blooded woman wouldn’t want that man on top of her as much as she could take it?” Rey blushed, not making eye contact in stubborn avoidance, and instead pretended her food was not warm enough. 

“I honestly don’t know what you mean Rose, he’s not interested in me . . .” Rey did not know what her feelings were currently. A part of her still hated his guts and yet another part constantly wanted to be in his presence. It suffocated her at times; his constant looming presence in her physical space, and in her mind. There was rarely a night the past few weeks in which she did not either think or dream about him. Thinking of him while awake brought about all kinds of mixed emotions, but dreaming of him brought about only one emotion.

“Oh PLEASE Rey, come on!” Jannah laughed and slapped the table with her palm. “He’s totally into you. Have you completely missed how kind he is when you are around? He doesn’t yell as much, no tantrums occur, he’s even polite to patrons! You were the best thing to happen to this place for the calming effect you have on Ben Solo alone!” Rose pointed a finger at Jannah in agreement, nodding her head. Rey sat down, food and fork in hand.

“It’s true. The minute you leave the room, he turns into the cold, controlling person he’s always been. You disarm him Rey. He looks at you with puppy eyes more often than not.” Rose validated Jannah’s assessment.

“I honestly don’t see it guys, why would a guy like him, be interested in a nobody, with no family or any kind of future planned for?”

Jannah leaned forward, lowering her voice, “Because Rey, no man gives up the mask he wears for the world out of free will. He only takes it off when he feels safe. For whatever reason, Ben takes it off when you’re around.” Rey’s emotions grew increasingly mixed as she glanced back and forth between the two other women. Her nerves bounded around her body and settled in her leg, which started to bounce up and down as she ate.

“So, movie night at Rose’s? Yea? Should I bring drinks? Snacks?” Rey asked in a poor attempt at distraction. She fooled no one. Rose and Jannah shared knowing glances at each other before the trio planned and split the menu for the evening.

**********

With the gym closing at 7pm every Friday, Rey had enough time to get off of work, run by the liquor store to grab a variety of drinks, get snacks at the next door Publix, and head to Rose’s. She knocked on the door, bags in hand. Finn opened the door to her surprise, a toothbrush sticking out the side of his mouth. When he saw who it was, he bit down on the brush, allowing him to speak. “Ooof Rey, let me grab that bag for ya, come on in.” Taking the brown paper sack out of one arm, he led her into the kitchen pointing at the counter she could put the other plastic snack bag on.

“You staying to watch some hardcore soft porn Finn?” Rey winked at him. Rose heard her question from the bedroom and yelled out, “OH HELL NO HE’S NOT.” She walked out to the front of the house already in her CareBear pajamas. “Luckily, I didn’t have to beg Poe to take him out for a night on the town.”

“Oh, that doesn’t shock me in the _least_.” Rey smirked as Finn rolled his eyes. She heard a door open behind her. Poe came in already wearing armor for some reason.

“YOU READY FOR ALL NIGHT LASER TAG BRO. LETS GOOOO!” Poe looked about ready to burst with excitement. His grin took up most of his face, his helmet already was in hand, his gun strapped to his back plate.

“You know you can’t drive in that gear, right?” Finn asked before washing out his mouth in the kitchen sink. Leaving his toothbrush there, he grabbed a coat and shoes. “I told you not to put it on yet, you’ll barely be able to sit down in the car!”

“No duh, that’s why you’re driving.” Poe laughed, as Finn grabbed his duffle bag filled with his own gear.

“He insisted on buying his own gear last Christmas. They go enough, so it seemed a decent mistake. If I knew it would mean monthly all night tournaments, I’d have put my foot down harder.” Rose explained to Rey.

“Its why you love be babe,” Finn kissed Rose on the side of her head, “I don’t need convincing to leave you alone for a bit, as long as it involves Poe and moderate threats of bodily injury.”  


“Mmmhmm. Indeed.” Rose arched her eyebrows at Rey as Finn headed out the garage door, getting into the car in record time. He pulled out of the garage honking and waving as him and Poe left. Within minutes, the girls were alone, had locked up the house, closed blinds, gotten changed into pajamas. Pillows and blankets were spread around the living room floor, and the first movie was loaded into the DVD player, the menu sitting on loop until they were settled. Rey set about mixing up a pitcher each of mojitos and manhattans. She may have put an extra shot of Jameson in her mojito. Her whiskey loving soul prevented her from doing otherwise.

“Ahhh the sexy bartender with our drinks!” Rose clapped as Rey brought a tray of first rounds for everyone. Rose and Jannah wore thick flannel pajama’s proudly for Oct, but Rey gladly elected for her tank and shorts. She was used to living in the desert, and enjoyed not being hot all the time. When she moved here, fall easily became her favorite time of year, no long pants needed. Rey kept her hair in a loose topbun, utterly messy and unkempt. Over the course of the first drinks, the women took off makeup, and now all wore facial masks. They figured it was better to do self-care while they were still moderately sober and not turned on by the film about to be consumed.

Jannah snorted when Rose called them “consuming” the movie. 

“Oi! I also bought Halloween candy in case we want that.” Rey went to grab her plastic jack-o-lantern already filled with themed candy.

“Oh, I have a leather and embers scented candle we should light! Would be perfect to set the mood for fall and a leather fetish.” The delightful smell filled the room within minutes, and the mood was set for a perfect night of movies, food, drinks, and friends.

_“I’ve needed this,”_ Rey sighed. She felt at home here, she felt this could be a place to settle down. She liked this motley crew of friends that welcomed her into the fold as easily as anything. Her thoughts went to Ben quickly . . . _“the only thing that’s missing . . .”_ She did not let herself finish the stray thought, as the movie started and Christian Grey was a nice distraction from the man she really wanted to be thinking about tonight. 

“Do people really bite their lips that much, like normally? I feel that’s an actual problem….like a sign of anxiety or something.” Rose asked, ever the curious detail oriented person of the group.

“I’d have anxiety if I went on a first date and a guy was like, ‘hey welcome to my sex torture room’. No thanks.” Jannah responded, not taking her eyes off the screen. Rey interjected her thoughts,

“Oh, I’d have NO problem, at all.”

“Well we all know you’re a unique creature Rey,” Rose looked at her from her perch on the couch, hanging upside down off the front edge. “You have a sense of adventure that apparently passed us by.”

Rey laughed as she lay on her stomach, chin and arms wresting on a pillow. “Not like you couldn’t learn. Look at poor Anna,” she pointed at the screen, “she’s clueless and she has a DEGREE.”

“Ooooooooo.” Rose and Jannah mocked the qualification of a degree. Rey stuck her tongue out at them.

“The fact that he always wants her to eat is helpful though. I’d love a man who forced me to eat breakfast,” Rey stated, mindlessly. Consistent food was not something her childhood was blessed with, and while Rose and Jannah did not know this, to Rey this would be a deal breaker.

“Or even MADE you breakfast. Finn is a hopeless cook.” Rose rolled her eyes. “Sometimes I dream of him being able to make instant oatmeal.” Rey and Jannah stifled laughter. “But he does oddly love cleaning, so I guess I can’t complain too much.”

“At least he’s not a hopeless cock…” Rey buried her face in the pillow to avoid Rose’s ire. Instead she laughed.

“Says the girl who skips breakfast, has no man, and seems content to eternally be the sidekick.” Rose teased back.

“Hey! Some breakfasts’ you don’t even have to cook you know. Maybe Rey and Finn could start a ‘anti-cooking club’. I feel like no one wants to cook after a wedding night, for example!” Jannah theorized while sitting with her back to the fireplace, keeping her eyes on the screen.

“Who’s thinking of weddings girl?” Rose teased her, “You don’t even have a man right now!”

“I’m just SAYING! If Christian Grey was my new husband, and we needed morning after breakfast, I’m ordering room service or something cold. Like bagels.” Jannah threw up her hands in mock surrender.

“Bagels?” Rose laughed, “why?”

“No, but think about it,” Rey joined the discussion with logic, “They are portable, easy to eat, nutritious, filling, have carbs for energy for more sex. It totally works.”

“Ok, but say you have a bagel breakfast after sex on the wedding night, what kind of bagels do you request to be sent up.” Jannah pointed her hand at Rey, asking.

“With nuts! Duh.” Rey feigned offence that the question had to be asked. Her innuendo wasn’t missed by her two friends who both curled up in laugher.

* _Knock knock knock *_

All three woman about jumped out of their skin when raps sounded out from the front door. It was near 1am, the second movie was only half over, and no one should have been visiting, not even Poe and Finn. The women all sat in silence, Rey held a lollipop in her mouth and paused the dvd. “I’ll get it!” She jumped up as Rose’s face came to a sudden realization, and she buried her face into the side of the couch.

“Shit,” Rose mumbled in the cushion. Jannah suddenly understood who was at the door, and knew this was not about to end well.

Rey, however, was either too tired or drunk to really care who was there, and enjoyed being helpful. She was comfortable and friendly and it couldn’t be anyone too bad at 1AM right?!

“COMING!” Rey yelled out and opened the door with a flourish. She paused when she saw Ben staring at her, bundled up in a coat and scarf due to the temperature drop.

*************

As Ben walked up to the door, he could hear chatter from a movie playing and woman’s laughter in response to whatever was on screen. Pausing at the door a little longer than was probably acceptable in public, he enjoyed listening to the joy present on the other side of the door. His hand grasped a half dozen paper files he needed to drop off to Rose before the weekend settled in. He had not considered she would have company. The trouble was, this was as good a time as any, and he was already here. 

Knocking on the door three times, he waited. He heard the movie silenced, and a moment later heard a familiar giggle on the other side of the door and his heart stopped dead in his chest as the door opened. He could have turned and run away, avoiding the entire situation completely. He could have left the files in Rose’s mailbox and texted her to go and get them. He could have left them on the doorstep after knocking. He could have done anything but staring at Rey standing in the door way, without speaking to her.

But that was exactly what he found himself doing.

Rey stood in the threshold, barefoot, bra less, in a tank top, booty shorts, and hair done up in a messy bun. Ben’s gaze was drawn to all of those aspects of her personhood, but his eyes landed on the lollipop sticking out of her mouth. He watched as those alcohol strained, glassy brown eyes stared at him and widened in shock. Reaching up as her brain likely began to work, she “popped” the candy out of her mouth. Ben swallowed to maintain as much composure as possible, clutching the files in his hand harder. 

“Uh, hey Rey is Rose here?” He asked, running his free hand through his hair to attempt to appear calm. He was not. What he suspected, was confirmed when Rey leaned against the door to steady herself from her buzz, to ask,

“Well, maybe she is, maybe she isn’t, what are you gonna give me if I tell you?” Rey was excited, horny, and drunk. She took a step toward him, clearly not caring what came out of her mouth at this point.

“A raise?” Ben asked, praying for Rose to come rescue him.

“OOooo yes, but a raise in what?” Before Ben even knew what was happening, Rey jumped out the door and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her height, leaning toward his ear she whispered, “I could make something rise in you….”

“OKKKKKK Rey, time to come back inside,” Rose ran out behind Rey, grabbing her arm and dragging her off Ben, who stood there, arms by his side unsure how to react. “Go sit back down, I’ll be there in a second.”

“Ok, Rose, hurry bacccck!” Rey walked backwards from the door, waving at Ben as she walked around the corner.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” Rose apologized, raising her eyebrows. “I assume you brought me the . . . stuff?”

Ben chortled to himself softly. “Alcohol affecting you as well, huh?” Rose glared at the man who stood exactly a foot taller than her, silent. “Yep, right here.” Ben handed over the files holding financial reports from the previous quarter. Rose was his financial right hand man, so to speak. He knew he just compiled the data, handed them over to her, she did math related things, and handed them back to him fixed, and balanced. Occasionally with criticisms, but he mostly avoided those. She got the job done, and that was all that mattered as far as he was concerned.

“Thanks Rose, and make sure she doesn’t get out.” Ben pointed in Rey’s general direction. “She could be dangerous if left to fend for herself.”

Rose lightly laughed at his poor attempt at a joke, “We will. See you on Monday.”

“Yeah, see you.” Ben raised his hand in a slight wave as Rose closed the door. He headed back to his bike, put on his helmet, and kick started. Rey’s whisper into his ear continued to bounce around his thoughts as he rode away into the moonlit night. Questions filled his mind, but he was thankful for the glimpse into her psyche. Alcohol has a way of opening people up, and for him, Rey opened up in exactly the way he needed. She let an ounce of her inner most desires out, and he knew there was something to work with when it came to her. He grinned to himself as the night air chapped his dry lips. They’d be needing some chapstick before too long.

Alternatively, Rey lay on the floor, a pillow covering her face. She mumbled through the pillow, barely audible, “PLEASE tell me I didn’t just do that.”

“Oh, you did that hun. You went full throttle, flirting, the lollipop thing, flinging yourself into his arms. You went there. You went there hard.” Jannah could barely keep a laugh off her face. Rey sat up and glared at her.

“Don’t say hard!” Jannah lost it at Rey’s frustration. “Thanks for your support! I’m gonna forget that happened by Monday morning, I’m claiming I blacked out, and don’t you two DARE correct me in front of him.” Rey pointed a finger at each of them in turn. They promised her they wouldn’t say anything, and unpaused the movie.

“I wonder if Christian Grey knows how to use a lollipop?” Rose asked out loud. Rey threw a pillow at her head, laughing, and actually hit her despite her boozed state. “You should take tips, you might need it one day you know.”

“You first.” Rey retorted. Rose laughed and all was forgiven. However, Rey did wonder what one _could_ do with a lollipop.


End file.
